You could say Fayette's middle schools have this thing down to a science.

Teams from J.C. Booth and Rising Starr finished first and second, respectively, at the Georgia Science Olympiad last Saturday, once again earning both a trip to the national competition May 21-22 in Huntingdon, Penn., where Booth will be defending the national title it reclaimed last spring. Rising Starr was national champion in 2002.

Four of Fayette's five middle schools competed at the state level and all four placed, said school district spokeswoman Melinda Berry-Dreisbach. Whitewater Middle finished 10th in the state and Flat Rock took 14th.

A total of 29 teams from across Georgia qualified for the competition, which featured 23 different events based on physics, chemistry, geology and a host of other science fields.

Events require students to use scientific principals, including problem solving skills and technology, to do everything from constructing a bridge to reconstructing a crime scene.

This year's trip to the National Science Olympiad at tiny Juniata College in central Pennseylvania will be the 12th for J.C. Booth, which owns seven national titles.

Rising Starr has earned a trip to nationals each year since the school opened in 1997. This is the school's seventh national competition.

Getting to the state and national levels is no easy task, team advisors say. Science Olympiad is an extracurricular activity and to be successful students put in a number of hours before and after school, as well as on weekends, honing their skills and practicing for the various events.

"On the Friday night before the state competition, teams of students were building bridges, launching with their trebuchet, and three students were working on their Rube Goldberg Project until 11 p.m.," said Mary Wilde, head coach of the Booth team.

Rising Starr's team holds their practice sessions before school beginning at 7:30 a.m., according to head coach Marge Counts. Practicing outside of school hours requires not only dedication from the students but also the cooperation of event coaches and parents.

"The families of these students are to be commended for their stamina and unyielding cooperation," said Counts.

Booth team members include Lauren Hedge, Lyndsi Tufte, Craig Western, Robin Prebor, Jessica Everage, Brian Huefner, Brian Forsyth, Joseph Morris, Hannah Wilder, Olivia Tucker, Kevin Dietze, Danny Christ, Landon Tufte, Shelby Bachman and Duggan Everage.

Rising Starr team members are David Lowry, Jennifer Schildmeyer, Andrew Ash, Andrew Zheng, Jack Larsh, Nathan Shankle, Matt Boyle, Steven LaBrecque, Ariella Perry, Zache Dicke, Morgan Kidd, Jake Mittleman, Mike Firsowicz, Zach Reed, Mike Mosgrove, Asato Masuyama, Tyler Dukes, Coby Campbell, Kenneth Johnson, Aaron Ash, Josh Mittleman, Justin Smith, Parker Leinbach, Justin Gilbert, Chris Powell, Noah Brunner and Sam Mittleman.

The 2004 National Science Olympiad tournament brings together the top two teams from more than 40 states. Juniata College, with an undergraduate enrollment of about 1,300, is the smallest college ever to host the event.

The opening ceremony and closing award presentations will be held in Knox Stadium, Juniata's athletic field, named for Juniata alumnus Chuck Knox, former NFL head coach for the Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks.

William Phillips, 1997 Nobel laureate in physics and a 1970 graduate of Juniata, will give the opening address to the participants at opening ceremonies Friday, May 21, at 5 p.m., followed by a parade of states by all participating teams.

The competition will start Saturday, May 22, at 8 a.m. at various locations around campus. The events, which end at 4 p.m., are based on the national and state scientific education standards.

For information, see the tournament Web site at www.juniata.edu/scioly/national/.