On Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, the Science Olympiad team traveled to Manchester University for a competition.

“We woke up at 4 a.m. and left [the school] at five for the drive to Manchester University,” Paul Lai (11) said.

It took the team two and a half hours to reach the competition. The team that went was made up of 15 members who competed in 23 different events.

“I was in ‘Dynamic Planet’ and ‘Write It, Do It,’ which is where one person writes directions and then another person has to build something following the directions,” Lai said.

Lai’s partner was his twin, Peter Lai (11), and the two placed third. Paul Lai placed first in his other event.

“The school placed second overall. We lost by four points to Bloomington, who always goes to Nationals,” Keertan Kini (12) said.

The team is still practicing and preparing for its upcoming competitions.

“We are looking forward to dominating at State,” Lai said.