Congratulations, Carmichaels Envirothon Team!

CARMICHAELS ENVIROTHON TEAM WINS BACK-TO-BACK STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

By Danielle Nyland

For the second year in a row, Carmichaels Envirothon Team won the state Envirothon competition. But that doesn’t mean the team is taking it easy after their-backto-back wins – when I stopped by to visit them, they were practicing a presentation, in their never-stopping preparation efforts.

The 36th Pennsylvania Envirothon state competition was held at the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown and Windber Recreation Park on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21 and 22, 2019. High school students from 66 Pennsylvania counties participated in a series of field station tests that focus on five topic areas – soils and land use, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, and environmental issues. The teams also prepare and deliver oral presentations to panels of judges who evaluate each team on its problem-solving capabilities, oral presentation skills and recommendations to help solve the specific environmental challenge.

Carmichaels’ 5-person team, consisting of Stephen Zacoi, Ryan Swartz, Joey Kurincak, Christina Adams, and Jacob Hair, won the competition with a score of 536 points of a possible 600, defeating one of their most difficult opponents,

Penncrest High School of Delaware County, by only 5 points. The Carmichaels team was the high station winner for the Aquatic Ecology station. This year’s competition brought with it a different set of expectations and troubles for the students and they shared some of their thoughts on this year’s competition with me.

The Envirothon team had the opportunity to share their Envirothon experience with Governor Wolf and the First Lady.

“Winning for the second time was more of a battle,” says Stephen Zacoi. “We won last year and had to live up to it.”

STEPHEN ZACOI

“Winning for the second year was definitely harder,” shares Jacob Hair. “It was like we had a target on our back this year and everyone was hoping to dethrone last year’s victors.”

JACOB HAIR

Christina Adams adds, “Everyone came back with a fury, especially Penncrest [former state and national champions]. It was really close.”

CHRISTINA ADAMS

“We all worked hard to show what we were capable of,” says Joey Kurincak. “During the competition, the trouble we had in forestry really threw me off and made me anxious. We missed more than we should have. I knew when we went to the awards that it would be close.”

JOEY KURINCAK

The victory at the state competition takes the team to the 31st NCF-Envirothon held at the end of July at North Carolina State University, Raleigh to compete against approximately 47 states, eight Canadian provinces, one Canadian territory, and two Chinese provinces.

The competition in North Carolina puts the students on more familiar ground. Unlike last year’s competition in Idaho with its unknown environments, the environment in North Carolina is much closer to home. They also have more resources available to aid them in their preparations.

“We had a hard time finding resources last year,” says Ryan Swartz, on preparing for NCF. “This year I’ll be a little less stressed since I know what to expect and we have resources that are easier to study and understand. I think it will go a lot better this year.”

RYAN SWARTZ

Kevin Willis, teacher and the team’s lead coach said that as hard as the team worked the first time, they worked even harder this year to earn the second win, spending any spare moment they could grab to prepare for the state competition. “I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as this team. I really wanted this team to have the opportunity to go back to NCF this year. I’m thrilled they have the chance.”

KEVIN WILLIS

MEGAN PATTON

There will be a send off for the team at Carmichaels High School on July 24 at 5:30pm; RSVP by July 16 by calling the office at 724-966-5045. The team will leave the next day and will complete some team building exercises on the way. Stops include Gatlinburg, Clingmans Dome, Laurel Falls, Ocona Luftee Visitor Center and more. Congratulations, Carmichaels and good luck!