The Middlesex varsity and JV physics teams represented the school admirably in the 2018 Physics Bowl. In both Division 1 (1st year students, our AP Physics 1 students) and Division 2 (2nd year students, our AP Physics C class), Middlesex had a number of students equal or best the national average on this traditionally very challenging 40 question test (see a section of the test here). Schools compete as teams in the Physics Bowl by summing the top 5 individual scores, and our Division 1 JV team (led by celebrated coach Tom Erickson) placed 4th in our very competitive region. Over 7,000 students competed this year, hailing from schools across the country and around the world.
Division 2 had a number of a very strong performances nationally this year, with the highest-ever-remembered national average of 20.1 on a very difficult test. Middlesex’s region (all New England schools, public and private) was won by perennial powerhouse Guilford (CT) High School with 134 points. Middlesex’s team score of 109 would have placed in the top 4 in many geographic regions, but the competition in Region 3 proved too tough for the Zebras this year. The Middlesex effort was led by the dynamic duo of Ben Kelly and Ted Pyne, each of whom scored 23 points. The team score was further helped by Luke Collins (22), and the K/C(am) team of Kam Landry (22), and Cam Parker (19).
In Division 1, the national average on an easier exam was 19 points. Middlesex scored 122 points, just 1 point behind 3rd place New Canaan and just 6 points behind 2nd place Guilford. The Zebra team was led by Jeremiah DeGreeff‘s and Haydn Herrema‘s scores of 25, nearly 1 standard deviation higher than the national average. Also scoring for Middlesex were David Andrysiak (24), Leo Dong (24), and Kevin Gao (24). The depth chart on this year’s JV squad was impressive, with an additional 12 students matching or besting the national average: Kenyon Pelletier, Sean Tanabe, Anna Dai, Kevin Ewing, Dante Gutbrod, Stanley Chan, Liam Tasker, Finn Wimberly, Allyson Lu, Jaden Chew, Derek Delaine, and Corey Sarazin.
Congrats to all our physicists!