Traditions prevail as Cohort 17 takes home the Golden Crutch at the annual BioScience Olympics

Ella Nicolle

Students participate in a scavenger hunt to find items that represent the organelles in a cell. Items were hidden around the school and students were given clues to help them determine their location. The juniors finished first while the seniors came in second, followed by the sophomores in third.

Linda Manzo and Maggie Lay
January 8, 2023

After a long and relaxing winter break, school has finally resumed at Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech). To kickstart the new year, BioScience hosted their annual BioScience Olympics on Jan. 6 2023, as an after school activity. 

The BioScience Academy consists of three branches, sophomores (Cohort 19), juniors (Cohort 18) and seniors (Cohort 17). The different cohorts competed against each other for the iconic 1st place prize: the Golden Crutch. However, everyone left with a trophy as second place was awarded the Silver Crutch and third place was awarded the Bronze Crutch. 

The Olympics consists of different games and activities for the BioScience students to participate in. The games included critical thinking and physical challenges, each student participating for their cohort while also making sure to be very competitive.

Students participating in the relay race donned PPE and surgical caps to distinguish themselves from the audience. (Ella Nicolle)

The Olympics began with a lively game of Jeopardy, showcasing what knowledge has been obtained in BioScience’s required courses such as Medical Technology and Physiology. Cohort 17 dominated Jeopardy, and as the students competed in a battle of brains, they were supported with thunderous applause that filled Spirito Hall. 

With the first game completed, Olympics then continued with a scavenger hunt. Cohort 18 steadily achieved first place by creating a model of a cell out of materials gathered from around the school. The cell’s structure and labeling had to be correctly placed and named in order to win the contest. 

The third game of the night was a relay race, which included a scramble to fill graduated cylinders with water. Students dunk sponges in water and attempt to fill the cylinders as quickly as possible before moving onto the next stage of the relay. (Ella Nicolle)

Conquering the quad, the BioScience population gathered to compete in a relay race. Beginning with a routine backboarding procedure, the students were put to a physical test to demonstrate their academic knowledge. A tourniquet three leg race was the concluding factor of the relay, a task that was not completed without failure from Cohorts 17 and 19, handing the competition to Cohort 18. 

With Cohort 17 in the lead, the deciding factor was the final task: Wheel of Fortune. Kickstarted with much enthusiasm, the cohorts battled to complete academic based phrases in the form of a traditional Hangman game. Cohort 17 was able to keep their lead, securing them the Golden Crutch. 

Accepting the Bronze Crutch, Cohort 19 placed third while Cohort 18 accepted their fate as the winner of the Silver Crutch, placing second. As the tradition continued, the Class of 2023, Cohort 17, was the proud recipient of the Golden Crutch, placing first. 

After many hours of competing in games of knowledge and speed, each cohort’s points were tallied. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors all gathered in Spirito Hall to find out who won. The sophomores came in third, winning the Bronze Crutch. In second place was the juniors, winning the Silver Crutch. That left the seniors in first place, winning the iconic Golden Crutch. (Ella Nicolle)

The night proved to be a very fun bonding experience, and Cohort 19 member Abbi Fleagane ‘25 commented, “I think it’s a really good opportunity for us to come together outside of class.” 

Ava Horowitz ‘25 also explained how bonding outside of school was an effective method of building connections between the cohorts. “After spending so many hours after school doing this, you really come together, and you build friendships and you just get to hang out more outside of school.”

As Olympics came to an end and the activities completed, BioScience students are able to look back at this tradition with joy. The night settled and with that, many students are anticipating next year’s event and readying for the inevitable competition and cohort bonding.

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