Dozens of schools attend 50th Scholastic Contest Day

Chadron State College celebrated its 50th annual Scholastic Contest Day on Friday, welcoming over 1,000 high school students to the campus to take academic tests.

Fifty-two different schools from an approximately 250-mile radius from Chadron signed up for the contest. According to a CSC news release 1,298 students participated in the contest.  The students participated in 46 exams that encompass almost every aspect of the academic curriculum. CSC’s scholastic contest is believed to be the oldest and largest contest in the high plains region.

Rapid City Stevens, with 17.93 division points, took first in Division I with 21 medals for the third year in a row. Additionally, Stevens has won first in the contest 17 of the past 21 contests, dating back to 1989.  Central in Rapid City, S.D., took second in Division I with 14.404 division points and Sturgis-Brown in Sturgis, S.D., took third with 9.689 points.

Alliance won the Division II competition with 11.489 division points, followed by second-place Chadron with 7.016 division points. Sidney took third with 6.554 division points.

The Division III winner was O’Neill with 10.75 division points. Valentine followed in second with 8.266 division points, and St. Thomas More placed third with 8.111 division points.

Crawford, with 6.994 division points, won Divison IV. Banner County was second with 6.385 division points with Niobrara County close behind in third with 6.335 division points.

Division V was won by Anselmo-Merna with 10.648 division points. Hyannis, with 10.373 division points, took second. Rapid City Christian took third, earning 9.288 division points.

Throughout the Scholastic Contest Day event, the Student Center was alive with activities. Before and after their tests, high school students could participate in an open mic session at the Lindeken Clock Tower, video games on a large projector screen, quiz games, and rides on a Humvee and a horse-drawn wagon. Participants were also invited to see the college’s planetarium, geology museum, the football team’s practice, and a round-pen horsemanship demonstration.