Solon High School

Background
Solon High School, located in Ohio, is one of the most successful teams in the nation. They have placed consistently at the regional, state, and national level. Their team website can be accessed here.

They first won the national tournament in 1998 with 675 points (the old scoring system was implemented at the time) at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, beating out Ft. Collins High School (651 pts) and Troy High School (649 pts) that year.

In 2011, along with Solon Middle School, they were able to win the national tournament for the second time at University of Wisconsin. With a score of 197 points, they edged out Centerville High School (203 pts) and West-Windsor Plainsboro High School South (235 pts). This is the first time since 1990 that a single school district won both Division B & C of the National Tournament. For their successes in 2011, the high school received a proclamation from the mayor, and a state resolution from the Ohio House of Representatives.

They also placed 2nd in both 2003 at Ohio State University and 2008 at George Washington University. Solon High School has placed in the top 10 at the national tournament 14 times in their history.

Often, many students from Solon Middle School participate in the SO program at Solon High School. The middle school and high school teams interact on a consistent basis, maintaining close relations and supporting each other in terms of resources and motivation.

The high school team, unlike the middle school team, does not cut its students initially. However, they do have event tryouts in order to determine which students are strong in the events; these tryouts primarily influence the first few schedules that are made. Most years, the Solon SO program has around 30-50 students participating. Solon usually takes two teams to Regionals and most Invitational competitions. Eventually, that number is cut to around 15 plus 4-6 alternates, as only one team from a school can be taken to states.

Contrary to popular belief, Solon High School does NOT have a class for Science Olympiad. The high school team maintains a friendly relationship with Centerville High School, Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy, Harriton High School, and Penncrest High School.

Solon Invitational
Part of Solon High School's success is due to the many invitationals it participates in. Solon has been able to attract many powerhouse schools, including: (highest placing at nationals in parentheses)
 * Mentor High School, OH (5th)
 * Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy, TX (7th)
 * Northmont High School, OH (19th)

Some consider the competition at Solon Invitational as one of the most difficult invitational tournaments in the nation.

Results History
Solon has been a perennial contender for the Nationals title. Since 1995, Solon has qualified for nationals 14 out of 16 times. Solon also has four state titles as well. Here are the results since 1992:

1: State Record for lowest points ever in the state of Ohio. 2: The Towers event was considered a Trial Event at the State Tournament.