Cloquet wins big at state science fair

Cloquet had 29 students participate in the Minnesota Academy of Science State Science Fair in March. The annual competition showcases Minnesota's best and brightest students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

Six students from Cloquet received Grand awards - the top award at state - recognizing excellence in scientific research. Students are ranked according to their poster and presentation score. There are gold, silver and bronze Grand awards.

Eighth-grader Emily Sapyta was the sole Cloquet student to win a gold medal, given to those in the top 5 percent in scoring. There were 500 projects presented at the fair.

Silver Grand medal winners (top 10 percent) included Payten Schneberger and MacKenzie Brummer, both seniors.

Receiving bronze medals (top 15 percent) were eighth-grader Aili Buytaert and seniors Claire Taubman and Emma Wells.

Some of the Grand winners from Cloquet were mentored by biology professors Dr. Jessica Sieber and Dr. Jennifer Liang from the University of Minnesota Duluth. Also, helping students were Trent Wickmann, U.S. Forest Service; Sam Giebner, ArcGIS geo-mentor; Dr. Collene Renier, statistician at Essentia Health; and Mike Schrage, wildlife biologist in the Fond du Lac Resource Management Division.

The following students won special awards:

•Eighth-grader Emily Sapyta received the DiaSorin Merit Award for best independent work demonstrating the scientific method. She was honored at the company and also given a tour of DiaSorin. She also won the Graduate Women in Science Award for best female student project in eighth grade.

•Sophomore Pery Boyd-Affias won the American Fisheries Award for best aquatics project. •Junior Cassandra Neumann won the Association for Women in Geoscience Award.

•Junior Abigail Smith won an Excellence in Acoustics honorable mention award.

Presenting their research at state were the following Cloquet Middle School students: Shayna Hamilton, Miles Fishcher, Paige Stish, Kloey Jensen, Grace Lavan, Beau Plante, Melaina Larsen, Rowan Rock, Timber Latvala, Mckenna Amey, Taylor Wenneson, Aili Buytaert, Emily Sapyta, Brianna Conant and Zachary Line.

The following Cloquet High School students presented research at the fair: Payten Schneberger, Ethan Drouillard, Cassandra Neumann, Elizabeth Strickland, Marcy Ferriere, Emma Wells, MacKenzie Brummer, Abigail Smith, Maya Fairbanks, Pery Boyd-Affias, Jerome Henagin, Taylor Anderson, and Claire Taubman.

The students attended the state competition with their research mentors Dr. Cynthia Welsh and William Bauer, Cloquet teachers Amy Jackson and Lindsey Gallagher, UMD student chaperone Christine Neumann, as well as Preston Jackson and Anna Pollak from University of Minnesota Morris, Scott Welsh, Adrianna Strickland, and Lisa Neumann.

Students advance to state from the regional science fair held at UMD in

February.