The 71st annual Northeast Colorado Regional Science Fair was held on Thursday, Feb 20 at NJC in Sterling. 51 Yuma County students from Liberty, Idalia, Wray and Yuma completed research projects and presented their work to area science professionals. 23 projects were forwarded to the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair (CSEF) at CSU. Lydia Mekelburg of Yuma was named the ISEF Finalist with her second year study of chronic wasting disease in deer. She will represent our region in at the ISEF in Columbus OH this May.
Grand Award Winners in the Junior Division:
Best of Fair Hannah Deering ($500), with a study on the tibia length of Samoyed dogs.
Best of Fair Runner-up Grace Cullen ($250) with a study on oregano as an antibacterial.
3rd place ($100) Ansley DePue for her investigation of light wavelengths on the growth of corn.
Grand Award Winners in the Senior Division:
Best of Fair and ISEF Finalist, $2000, Lydia Mekelburg for her 2nd year study of chronic wasting disease.
Best of Fair Runner-up, $500, Kaycee Clark, for her study into the mitigating the spread of cheatgras
Agustus Gdanitz ($300) 3rd, with a study of zeolites and algea blooms.
Category Winners were as follows:
Senior Division Engineering 1st place Haydan Drullinger, 2nd Maddox King.
Senior Division Health and Medicine 1st place Maylin Carballo de la cruz, 2nd Jaden DePue.
Senior Division Microbiology 1st place Agustus Gdanitz, 2nd Taelyn Rojas.
Senior Division Environmental Science 1st Juakin Sawatzky.
Senior Division Animal Science 1st Lydia Mekelburg, 2nd Grace Jones, 3rd Maggie Anderson.
Senior Division Plant Science 1st Kaycee Clark, 2nd Cayenne Bullard, 3rd Pason Dible.
Junior Division Plant Science 1st Ansley DePue, 2nd Harley Vaughn.
Junior Division Physics 1st Ryker Monahan, 2nd Amber Satterly.
Junior Division Engineering 1st Elliot Louthan, 2nd Valeria Martinez-Palacios.
Junior Health and Medicine 1st Travis Wise, 2nd Jaxon DePue, 3rd Booker Kite.
Junior Behavioral Science 1st Maria Vasco, 2nd Bailey Wudtke.
Junior Microbiology 1st Grace Cullen, 2nd Jarek Rojas.
Junior Division Math and Computers 1st Bode Monahan.
Junior Division Chemistry 1st Skyler Kechter.
Junior Earth Science 1st Logan Drullinger, 2nd Katherine Madrid.
Junior Division Animal Science 1st Hannah Deering, 2nd Levi Spencer.
Junior Environmental Science 1st team of Aylin Bobadilla and Nayla Gutierrez, 2nd Morgan Drullinger, 3rd Kayla Melby.
Finalists to the CSEF are: Juniors Ansley DePue, Harley Vaughn, Ryker Monahan, Bode Monahan, Skyler Kechter, Elliot Louthan, Travis Wise, Booker Kite, Grace Cullen, Logan Drullinger, Morgan Drullinger, Hannah Deering, Levi Spencer, Nayla Gutierrez and Alin Bobadilla, and Kayla Melby. Seniors: Lydia Mekelburg, Kaycee Clark, Gus Gdanitz, Haydan Drullinger, Juakin Sawatzky, Maddox King, Maylin Carballo de la cruz, and Taelyn Rojas.
Numerous special awards were given, including cash and certificates from our sponsors. Our local sponsors included Bank of Colo, BGR Dental, First Farm Bank, Korf Continental, FNB Bank Kirk, Main St Insurance, Jim McNay, Plains Telephone, Premier Farm Credit, Shaw Ranch, High Plains Research Network, Nutrien Ag Solutions/Steve Sackett, Ted and Penny Propst, Ag Risk Advisors, Yuma District Hospital, Hall Hay and Dr. Erin Westfall.