Sundance students compete in academic contest

Six students from Sundance took part in the International Academic Competitions (IAC) in Big Horn on Saturday, April 1, with four of them qualifying to go on to the national and international events.

IAC is a network of academic competitions for both primary and secondary students in subjects ranging from history and geography to science and the humanities. The organization is based in Vermont, but oversees events in 50 countries all across the world.

Before the contest on Saturday, the six students took an initial qualifying exam.

In Big Horn, students took part in history, geography and science competitions. In each contest, the students buzzed in their answers to a set of 30 questions for each of three rounds, accumulating points along the way.

After the third round, the top 50% of students moved into the final round and qualified for the national competition in that subject. Nationals will be held in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

The top three students after the final round won gold, silver and bronze medals. Those students who finished in the top 25% qualified for the international competition; finishing in the top 50% at nationals will also allow students to qualify for internationals.

International competitions will take place in Rome, Italy and Ecuador.

Eighth grader Cade Willson won first place in three categories: history, geography and science. Willson qualified for both the national and international competitions.

Landon Taylor qualified for the national and international contests in history.

Annie Harmon qualified for the national bee in geography.

Keaton Mayberry qualified for the national bee in history.

SHS Librarian Casey Harmon organized the students' participation in the event and administered the qualifying test ahead of the trip to Big Horn.