Lake Land College (LLC) held the regional Academic Challenge in Engineering and Science (ACES) competition on Friday, Feb. 11 after it was postponed a week due to adverse weather conditions. Around 200 students from several high schools competed in categories of biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering graphics, English, mathematics and physics. The students took their tests, left for lunch and came back for an awards ceremony in which the winners were announced. There were also door prizes for which names were randomly drawn. These included bluetooth speakers, Fitbits and Google Nest minis. These prizes were passed out by student ambassadors. When asked about the day, freshman student ambassador Emerson Tarr said, “Congratulations to all the students who won, we hope to see you back at Lake Land in the future!” 

At the team/school level, St. Anthony High School won in the 300 division, Paris won in the 700 division and Mattoon High school won in the 1500 division. LLC science instructor Dr. Mike Rudibaugh announced the first, second and third place winners for each category. The top two scorers of each category received tuition waivers for $1,000 at LLC. The winners were Paul Niemerg and Peyton Tegeler in physics, Lindsey Beals and Elizabeth Kabbes in math, Shaylee Vondrak and Lily Smittkamp in English, Dalton Short and Andrei Deaconescu in computer science, Elijah McElravy and Bo Hilbert in chemistry, Alex Schaljo and Myah Wright in biology and Josiah Donaldson and Isaac Chambers in engineering graphics. 

When asked about his experience at the event, Shelbyville High School junior Bo Hilbert said he enjoyed his time at the competition, but was disappointed that he was unable to complete his math test during the allotted time. He still managed to place third in the category, however. From the same school, senior Jersey Binnion said, “Today was my first time competing and I had a lot of fun! I am excited to return to Lake Land in the fall as a student.”