Marquette University High School is a private, all-male, Jesuit high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Marquette competes in the Division C Wisconsin South East Regional. The school hosts both the Division C Marquette Invitational and Division B Marquette Regional. The team has improved significantly in each year of its existence and has expanded from having one team to five. They are unique amongst Science Olympiad teams for their outfits, wearing blue lab coats and bowties at competitions. The team has had rivalries with Madison West High School and Menomonie High School since 2018, and frequently competes against Midwest powerhouses Adlai E. Stevenson High School, New Trier High School, Solon High School, Mason High School, and Carmel High School.
The program started in the 2015-2016 season, finding its foundations for the first two years before emerging as a competitive team. The Marquette Invitational began in the 2018, and it temporarily expanded in 2021 to accommodate Mini SO and Satellite SO teams in both Division B and C. In 2021, the team won its first Wisconsin state tournament, qualifying for the 2021 National Tournament, where they took 14th place. In 2022, the school began hosting the Division B Marquette Regional in coordination with the Division C Marquette Invitational. The team repeated as Wisconsin state champions and advanced to the 2022 National Tournament, where they placed 4th.
Results History
| Year |
Nationals |
State |
Regional
|
| 2016 |
-- |
33rd (573) |
4th (138)
|
| 2017 |
-- |
17th (424) |
?
|
| 2018 |
-- |
3rd (114) |
1st (51)
|
| 2019 |
-- |
3rd (69)1 2 |
1st (37)
|
| 2020 |
Cancelled due to COVID |
1st (35)
|
| 2021 |
14th (298)3 |
1st (38) |
Cancelled
|
| 2022 |
4th (230) |
1st (29)1 2 |
1st (22)4
|
| 2023
|
11th (370)
|
1st (41)
|
1st (29)
|
1 - Spirit Award
2 - Outstanding Student Award
3 - Only 18 events scored; builds trialed
4 - Perfect score; only 22 events were scored as Geocaching was not run.
Invitational History
Wisconsin
| Year |
Belleville |
Marquette |
Badger |
Slinger |
Boyceville |
Medford |
Menomonie |
UWRF
|
| 2018 |
3rd (109) |
1st (72)
|
2nd (84) |
1st (53) |
-- |
-- |
--
|
--
|
| 2019 |
1st (58) |
1st (43)
|
4th (116)* |
1st (46)
|
12th (315)* |
5th (147)* |
--
|
--
|
| 2020 |
1st (57) |
1st (30)
|
7th (157)* |
--
|
-- |
-- |
-- |
--
|
| 2021
|
1st (39) |
1st (27)
|
1st (58)
|
1st (25)
|
3rd (124) |
-- |
1st (32)
|
--
|
| 2022 |
1st (42) |
1st (27) |
-- |
--
|
1st (123)
|
-- |
-- |
1st (126)*
|
| 2023
|
1st (41)
|
1st (48)
|
--
|
2nd (66)**
|
5th (226)
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
*No varsity team present
**Unstacked; 1st superscored
Illinois
| Year |
Conant |
UChicago |
Loyola |
Palatine |
Harlem |
Huntley |
NWSO
|
| 2019 |
2nd (146) |
4th (188) |
5th (221) |
-- |
-- |
-- |
--
|
| 2020 |
-- |
5th (203) |
4th (160) |
5th (222) |
1st (37) |
1st (90) |
--
|
| 2021 |
-- |
9th (290) |
-- |
3rd (148) |
-- |
-- |
--
|
| 2022 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
2nd (192) |
-- |
-- |
1st (81)
|
| 2023
|
--
|
--
|
2nd (64)
|
2nd (156)
|
1st (34)
|
--
|
2nd (86)
|
Other States
| Year |
BEARSO |
Yosemite |
Solon |
UCincy |
Mason |
Rickards
|
SONI
|
MIT |
UMSO
|
| 2021 |
20th (1036) |
6th (263) |
7th (354) |
4th (404) |
9th (256) |
--
|
-- |
-- |
--
|
| 2022 |
-- |
-- |
2nd (177) |
-- |
10th (407) |
5th (286)
|
8th (694) |
4th (266) |
1st (175)
|
| 2023
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
--
|
12th (333)
|
2nd (169)
|
Trophies & Medals
Trophies from All Tournaments
2017-2018 Trophies
| 3rd
|
Marquette University High School received a 3rd place trophy at the 2018 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2018 Slinger Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2018 Wisconsin Southeast Regional.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2018 Badger Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2018 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 3rd
|
Marquette University High School received a 3rd place trophy at the 2018 Wisconsin State Tournament.
|
|
2018-2019 Trophies
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2019 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2019 Conant Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2019 Slinger Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2019 Wisconsin Southeast Regional.
|
| 4th
|
Marquette University High School received a 4th place trophy at the 2019 UChicago Invitational.
|
| 5th
|
Marquette University High School received a 5th place trophy at the 2019 Loyola Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2019 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 3rd
|
Marquette University High School received a 3rd place trophy at the 2019 Wisconsin State Tournament.
|
|
2019-2020 Trophies
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 5th
|
Marquette University High School received a 5th place trophy at the 2020 Palatine Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Harlem Invitational.
|
| 5th
|
Marquette University High School received a 5th place trophy at the 2020 UChicago Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Wisconsin Southeast Regional.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2020 Huntley Invitational.
|
| 4th
|
Marquette University High School received a 4th place trophy at the 2020 Loyola Invitational.
|
|
2020-2021 Trophies
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 3rd
|
Marquette University High School received a 3rd place trophy at the 2021 Palatine Invitational.
|
| 3rd
|
Marquette University High School received a 3rd place trophy at the 2021 Boyceville Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Slinger Invitational.
|
| 4th
|
Marquette University High School received a 4th place trophy at the 2021 Cincinnati Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Badger Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Menomonie Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2021 Wisconsin State Tournament.
|
|
2021-2022 Trophies
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2022 Palatine Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Boyceville Invitational.
|
| 7th
|
Marquette University High School received a 7th place trophy at the 2022 National Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2022 Solon Invitational.
|
| 4th
|
Marquette University High School received a 4th place trophy at the 2022 MIT Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 UWRF Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Wisconsin Southeast Regional.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 UMSO Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Northwestern Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2022 Wisconsin State Tournament.
|
| 4th
|
Marquette University High School received a 4th place trophy at the 2022 National Tournament.
|
|
2022-2023 Trophies
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2023 Belleville Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2023 Palatine Invitational.
|
| 5th
|
Marquette University High School received a 5th place trophy at the 2023 Boyceville Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2023 Harlem Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2023 Marquette Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2023 Wisconsin Southeast Regional.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2023 Loyola Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2023 UMSO Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2023 Northwestern Invitational.
|
| 2nd
|
Marquette University High School received a 2nd place trophy at the 2023 Slinger Invitational.
|
| 1st
|
Marquette University High School received a 1st place trophy at the 2023 Wisconsin State Tournament.
|
|
|
Timeline & Trivia
- The Marquette Science Olympiad team was founded in 2015 by a few students in the science club.
- Marquette won its first state medals at the 2017 Wisconsin State Tournament, medaling in Hydrogeology, Microbe Mission, Disease Detectives, and WiFi Lab. Despite the medals, it is referred to as the "year that did not exist" because Marquette was not yet nationally competitive.
- Marquette's first state gold medals came at the 2018 Wisconsin State Tournament, where the team won Chemistry Lab, Code Analysis, and Food Science.
- The first time Marquette beat Madison West High School and Menomonie High School was at the 2019 Belleville Invitational.
- Marquette's first out-of-state competition was at the 2019 Conant Invitational. The team took 2nd to Naperville North High School.
- Marquette took another 3rd place at the 2019 Wisconsin State Tournament with 69 points, just 2 points behind Menomonie High School and 14 points Madison West High School. Never before or since have 3 teams been under 70 points at the Wisconsin state tournament.
- Marquette came onto the radars of many teams across the country at the BEARSO Invitational, the first virtual tournament ever, where Marquette placed 20th out of 203 teams.
- After Marquette placed 3rd at the 2021 Boyceville Invitational, the team was ranked 26th in the nation in the Scioly.org midseason poll.
- Marquette won its first state championship at the 2021 Wisconsin State Tournament, setting a new state record with 38 points (13 gold medals, 5 silvers, and 5 bronzes).
- Marquette's 14th place finish at the 2021 National Tournament was the best performance by a Wisconsin team since Menomonie High School's 12th place finish in 2011, and by a private high school since Pembroke Hill High School's 3rd place finish in 1996. Their score of 298 was the best score by a Wisconsin team or by a private school under the modern scoring system (2001-present), with the previous record being 479 points in both cases: Madison West High School in 2019 and Pembroke Hill High School in 2018.
- Marquette's national gold medal in Detector Building in 2021 marked the first time a Wisconsin team won an event at nationals since Madison West High School won Rocks and Minerals in 2012.
- Marquette won the 2022 Boyceville Invitational, the 4th-largest Division C tournament in history, with a score of 123 points and a margin of victory of 93 points. This is the lowest score and 2nd-largest margin of victory ever recorded at a super-tournament (150+ teams).
- After Marquette placed 4th at the 2022 MIT Invitational, the team was ranked 9th in the nation in the Scioly.org midseason poll.
- In 2022, Marquette achieved a perfect score at Regionals.
- At the 2022 Wisconsin State Tournament, Marquette set new state records with 29 points (19 gold medals, 2 silvers, 2 bronzes) and a 91-point margin of victory over second place Menomonie High School. It was also the lowest score at any state tournament by any team in 2022.
- Marquette's 4th place finish at the 2022 National Tournament was the best finish by a Wisconsin team since Madison West High School in 1990. Their score of 230 places them amongst the great teams in history; that score would have won nationals in 2016 or 2019, and makes them one of only 9 schools to average 10th place or better across all 23 events.
National record scores by school:
|
- Marquette has an average event placement of 14.03 at the national tournament, giving them one of the strongest records by any team at nationals.
Average national event placement by school:
|
- Marquette is the only school that has never placed 40th or worse in any event at nationals.
Worst event performance at nationals by school:
- 1. Marquette University High School (WI): 37 (Chemistry Lab, 2021)
- T-2. Mason High School (OH): 40 (Trajectory, 2023)
- T-2. Spackenkill High School (NY): 40 (Oceanography, 2008)
- 4. Eisenhower High School (MI): 43 (Remote Sensing, 2003)
- T-5. International Academy Central (MI): 44 (Microbe Mission, 2017)
- T-5. Cumberland Valley High School (PA): 44 (Disease Detectives, 2022)
- T-5. Walton High School (GA): 44 (Environmental Chemistry, 2022)
- 8. Lake Braddock Secondary School (VA): 45 (Green Generation, 2022)
- 9. Lower Merion High School (PA): 46 (Write It Do It, 2021)
- 10. Great Neck South High School (NY): 47 (Experimental Design, 2021)
|
- In both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Marquette won more total medals than any other Division C team, with over 750 medals in each season.
- At 2022 nationals, Marquette was the best-performing team across the physics events and the best-performing team across the build events. At 2023 nationals, Marquette was the best-performing team across the physics events and the 2nd-best-performing team (after Solon High School) across the build events.
- Marquette is unique amongst nationally competitive Science Olympiad programs in that they are the only private school, only Catholic school, only Jesuit school, only all-male school, only school located in an urban area, and only school with under 1000 students.
- Marquette Science Olympiad members have attended many prestigious universities, including MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, UChicago, Northwestern, Notre Dame, and WashU.
Wisconsin
