JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley students placed first, third and fourth at the local BASF and the Chemical Education Foundation's “You Be The Chemist” Challenge March 9 at Ryan Gloyer Middle School.

Eighth-grade student Peter Ko finished in first place, followed by Zachary Tollerton, seventh grade, in third and sixth-grader Ophelia Crano in fourth.

Peter and Zachary will advance to the state competition April 27 at Penn State University in State College, and Ophelia earned a spot as an alternate for the state competition.

Evans City Middle School sixth-grade students Isabella Muthler, Patrick Monahan and Steven Patterson also competed.

Julie Smith, a Ryan Gloyer Middle School teacher, and Mike Levere, an Evans City gifted support teacher, served as advisers for the challenge.

The challenge is an interactive academic contest that encourages students in fifth through eighth grades to explore chemistry concepts and their real-world applications.

BASF is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with a branch location in Evans City.

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