Science Olympiad at Penn Invitational 2019

[builderguy135]

Sorry to dissapoint, but North isn't stacking and also some people are going to HMMT instead...

Has North stacked at all this season?

No afaik and probably not until states.

[lumosityfan]

Well here goes with my predictions (prepare for half of these to be horribly wrong lol )

1. Troy
2. Mason
3. Boca Raton
4. LASA
5. New Trier
6. South
7. North
8. Rustin
9. Lower Merion
10. Montgomery

[Raleway]

Gonna adjust my predictions...

1. Troy
2. Boca Raton
3. LASA
4. Harriton
5. New Trier
6. Mason
7. Montgomery
8. WWPN
9. WWPS
10. Lower Merion

Some explanation for this radical change:

1. Boca Raton did really well last weekend and also did really well at MIT, placing top 3 in numerous events, so I'm going to assume they've also shored up some of their weak points
2. Mason lost their core group of seniors last year and their team does not seem as dominant as last year.
3. Harriton did relatively poorly at MIT and has not shown their dominance of past years
4. LASA placed under Boca Raton at MIT but above Harriton so I put them right in between
5. Both WWP teams will have short-handed rosters due to HMMT and WWPN traditionally does not bring full strength teams either due to scheduling or to conceal whatever;
6. WWPS traditionally does not stack hard at invitationals and North might follow that especially due to HMMT
7. Lower Merion had a strong performance at PUSO last weekend

But what do I know

[sciolyperson1]

Gonna adjust my predictions...

1. Troy
2. Boca Raton
3. LASA
4. Harriton
5. New Trier
6. Mason
7. Montgomery
8. WWPN
9. WWPS
10. Lower Merion

Some explanation for this radical change:

1. Boca Raton did really well last weekend and also did really well at MIT, placing top 3 in numerous events, so I'm going to assume they've also shored up some of their weak points
2. Mason lost their core group of seniors last year and their team does not seem as dominant as last year.
3. Harriton did relatively poorly at MIT and has not shown their dominance of past years
4. LASA placed under Boca Raton at MIT but above Harriton so I put them right in between
5. Both WWP teams will have short-handed rosters due to HMMT and WWPN traditionally does not bring full strength teams either due to scheduling or to conceal whatever;
6. WWPS traditionally does not stack hard at invitationals and North might follow that especially due to HMMT
7. Lower Merion had a strong performance at PUSO last weekend

But what do I know

Will/Does Montgomery do HMMT as well?

[Raleway]

Will/Does Montgomery do HMMT as well?

No idea; never seen them at HMMT before.

[demir]

People like to dismiss recent success as possible fluke in the face of history/tradition.
...
This may sound silly, but I think Troy was not very active in invitationals and it may make them more likely to fail in some events. I would not be shocked if they don't get in top 3 this time.

Edit: I need to start watching what I say lol

Demir, why do you say this? Troy has been extremely successful of late (Troy has placed first in every single tournament they've competed in in the last 2 years). Bombs can happen to any team. They don't happen often to Troy, and even when they do Troy's excellence in the rest of their events usually makes up for it.

Well, intuition? I did not see Troy participating in many tournaments this year. Sure, I think they are the best team by far in recent years. Just like I thought MIT was the best invitational by far. Getting too confident hinders preparation. I feel that Troy may not be as hungry as some of the other top tier schools out there just like MIT did not seem as hungry as some other organizations, and the performance was underwhelming (for their standards) A team that has been to 5-6 invitationals already is less likely to bomb building/inquiry events. Drive and competition experience is paramount and Troy may be somewhat lacking this year. (I know that sounded ridiculous) Them getting a very dominant win won't surprise anyone. Troy is Troy. But, at the same time, jerseys don't win competitions.

[4Head]

People like to dismiss recent success as possible fluke in the face of history/tradition.
...
This may sound silly, but I think Troy was not very active in invitationals and it may make them more likely to fail in some events. I would not be shocked if they don't get in top 3 this time.

Edit: I need to start watching what I say lol

Demir, why do you say this? Troy has been extremely successful of late (Troy has placed first in every single tournament they've competed in in the last 2 years). Bombs can happen to any team. They don't happen often to Troy, and even when they do Troy's excellence in the rest of their events usually makes up for it.

Well, intuition? I did not see Troy participating in many tournaments this year. Sure, I think they are the best team by far in recent years. Just like I thought MIT was the best invitational by far. Getting too confident hinders preparation. I feel that Troy may not be as hungry as some of the other top tier schools out there just like MIT did not seem as hungry as some other organizations, and the performance was underwhelming (for their standards) A team that has been to 5-6 invitationals already is less likely to bomb building/inquiry events. Drive and competition experience is paramount and Troy may be somewhat lacking this year. (I know that sounded ridiculous) Them getting a very dominant win won't surprise anyone. Troy is Troy. But, at the same time, jerseys don't win competitions.

They never go to many invites...

I won't pretend to know what they do, but there's no way on the planet that their students aren't hungry

[EastStroudsburg13]

Edit: I need to start watching what I say lol

Demir, why do you say this? Troy has been extremely successful of late (Troy has placed first in every single tournament they've competed in in the last 2 years). Bombs can happen to any team. They don't happen often to Troy, and even when they do Troy's excellence in the rest of their events usually makes up for it.

Well, intuition? I did not see Troy participating in many tournaments this year. Sure, I think they are the best team by far in recent years. Just like I thought MIT was the best invitational by far. Getting too confident hinders preparation. I feel that Troy may not be as hungry as some of the other top tier schools out there just like MIT did not seem as hungry as some other organizations, and the performance was underwhelming (for their standards) A team that has been to 5-6 invitationals already is less likely to bomb building/inquiry events. Drive and competition experience is paramount and Troy may be somewhat lacking this year. (I know that sounded ridiculous) Them getting a very dominant win won't surprise anyone. Troy is Troy. But, at the same time, jerseys don't win competitions.

They never go to many invites...

I won't pretend to know what they do, but there's no way on the planet that their students aren't hungry

Troy has already gone to a few West Coast invites. They typically only go to one major East Coast invite each year, this year's being SOUP.

[demir]

Edit: I need to start watching what I say lol

Demir, why do you say this? Troy has been extremely successful of late (Troy has placed first in every single tournament they've competed in in the last 2 years). Bombs can happen to any team. They don't happen often to Troy, and even when they do Troy's excellence in the rest of their events usually makes up for it.

Well, intuition? I did not see Troy participating in many tournaments this year. Sure, I think they are the best team by far in recent years. Just like I thought MIT was the best invitational by far. Getting too confident hinders preparation. I feel that Troy may not be as hungry as some of the other top tier schools out there just like MIT did not seem as hungry as some other organizations, and the performance was underwhelming (for their standards) A team that has been to 5-6 invitationals already is less likely to bomb building/inquiry events. Drive and competition experience is paramount and Troy may be somewhat lacking this year. (I know that sounded ridiculous) Them getting a very dominant win won't surprise anyone. Troy is Troy. But, at the same time, jerseys don't win competitions.

They never go to many invites...

I won't pretend to know what they do, but there's no way on the planet that their students aren't hungry

As far as Troy is concerned, that is my point. They seem to do the same old. I expect them to be about equally powerful, similarly hungry and equally well-prepared. I don't think they will regress. But they should not be improved much either, while many other teams seemingly did. "Several teams are much improved. Teams at the top are closer, so the placements are likely to be shaped by bombed events" was my point. A second point was a household name like Troy will be seen favorite based on their past history, while teams like Mason (of last year) or Boca (of this) will receive some suspicion despite their success.
In near past, Troy's rare mistakes may have not cost them much, but this year it probably will (if they make any mistake) Are they favorites? Yes. Would I be shocked if they don't place in top 3? No.

[Name]

Predictions (basically assuming everyones full strength and stacking which I know they arn't, no team B repeats)
1. Troy (Clear favorites)
2. Boca (Very strong MIT performance)
3. Mason
4. LASA
5. WWPN (yes I know they won't actually stack)
6. New Trier
7. Harriton (seemed extremly weak at MIT, but I don't want to place them any lower)
8. WWPS
9. Rustin
10. LM
11. Brookwood
12. Montgomery
13. Conestoga
14. Penncrest
15. South Brunswick