Missouri

Missouri
State flag
General Information
Member of SO since	1987
Total teams	170 ( 6.9% 2024 to 2025)
Division B Champion	Ladue Middle School
Division C Champion	Ladue Horton Watkins High School
State Tournament Location	University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg
Website	www.missouriso.org/home

Missouri is a state with a long history of participation in Science Olympiad, having hosted teams since 1987.

History

Missouri has sent teams to the National Tournament since 1987, with Pembroke Hill Middle School representing the state in Division B. Ladue Horton Watkins High School would receive their first bid the following year in 1988. Though Oak Park High School and Plattsburg Junior High School would see a fair bit of dominance in the 1990s and early 2000s, Ladue and Pembroke Hill have been dominant in the state throughout its entire history.

The state sent two teams from each division to the National Tournament from 1989 to 2017, with the state losing one bid in both divisions for the 2018 season. However, during the 2021 season, the state regained its second bid in Division B. Starting from that season, Missouri sends two Division B teams and one Division C team to the National Tournament. In 2023, Idaho and South Dakota gave up their bids to the 2023 National Tournament, which allowed Missouri to send a second team in both divisions. Similarly, in 2024 four states gave up their Divison C bids to the 2024 National Tournament, allowing Missouri to send a second Division C team.

Missouri teams in Division B tend to fare well at the National Tournament, often netting top-20 finishes. The best finish from a Missouri team in Division B was New Mark Middle School's 5th place finish at the 2000 National Tournament, and the most recent top 10 finish from a Missouri team in Division B was Ladue Middle School's 8th place finish at the 2024 National Tournament. Ladue won the Corteva Enterprise Award with their 11th place finish at the 2019 National Tournament (after not attending in 2018), but their performance still wasn't enough to break into the top 10.

In Division C, Missouri typically sees lower average placements at the National Tournament than Division B with Division C teams typically placing in the mid-20s or low 30s. The best finish from a Missouri Team in Division C was Pembroke Hill High School's 3rd place finish at the 1996 National Tournament, and the most recent top 10 finish from a Missouri team in Division C was Oak Park High School's 5th place at the 2001 National Tournament.

The Missouri State Tournament is currently hosted at University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, the same school that has previously hosted the West Central Missouri Regional. From 2022-2024, the State Tournament was hosted at Missouri State University in Springfield, the same host as the Southwest Missouri Regional. Missouri State University could not host the state tournament from 2025-2026 due to major construction on campus. From 2015 to 2020, the state tournament was to be held at Westminster College in Fulton, MO. In 2021 the tournament was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, though in 2022 Missouri State University was able to host its first in-person state tournament. Prior to 2015, the state tournament was hosted at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO.

Missouri has only hosted the national tournament once--the 1991 National Tournament was held at Penn Valley Community College (now known as Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley) in Kansas City, MO.

Past State Champions

This is a record of the past state champions and runners up, and their respective places at the national competition. Scores at the state competition may be shown in parentheses.

Season	Division B					Division C
	Champion		Runner-Up		Third Place	Champion		Runner-Up		Third Place
	Team	Nats Place	Team	Nats Place	Team	Team	Nats Place	Team	Nats Place	Team
1987	Pembroke Hill Middle School	30th
1988	Pembroke Hill Middle School	19th				Ladue Horton Watkins High School	41st
1989	Plattsburg Junior High School	36th				Oak Park High School	7th	Hickman High School	12th
1990	Plattsburg Junior High School	9th				Ladue Horton Watkins High School	25th	Pembroke Hill High School	20th
1991	Plattsburg Junior High School	10th	Excelsior Springs School	12th		Pembroke Hill High School	6th	Oak Park High School	14th
1992	Plattsburg Junior High School	9th	Excelsior Springs School	16th		Pembroke Hill High School	11th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School	23rd
1993	Ladue Middle School	13th	Plattsburg Junior High School	16th		Oak Park High School	7th	Pembroke Hill High School	29th
1994	Ladue Middle School	15th	New Mark Middle School	27th		Oak Park High School	21st	Pembroke Hill High School	30th
1995	Ladue Middle School	13th	Crestview Middle School	31st		Pembroke Hill High School	11th	Oak Park High School	18th
1996	Ladue Middle School	11th	Plattsburg Junior High School	25th		Pembroke Hill High School	3rd	Oak Park High School	12th
1997	Plattsburg Junior High School	30th	New Mark Middle School	34th		Oak Park High School	8th	Pembroke Hill High School	16th
1998	New Mark Middle School	9th	Ladue Middle School	12th		Pembroke Hill High School	16th	Oak Park High School	20th
1999	Plattsburg Junior High School	7th	Ladue Middle School	15th		Oak Park High School	15th	Pembroke Hill High School	16th
2000	New Mark Middle School (550)	5th	Ladue Middle School (503)	19th	Kearney Junior High School (497)	Oak Park High School (474)	16th	Pembroke Hill High School (468)	18th	Kearney High School (432)
2001	Ladue Middle School	22nd	Plattsburg Junior High School	25th		Oak Park High School	5th	Plattsburg High School	41st
2002	New Mark Middle School	15th	Ladue Middle School	22nd		Oak Park High School	11th	Pembroke Hill High School	29th
2003	Ladue Middle School	19th	Summit Lakes Middle School	32nd	New Mark Middle School	Pembroke Hill High School	17th	Oak Park High School	15th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School
2004	Plattsburg Junior High School	23rd	Ladue Middle School	28th		Oak Park High School	18th	Pembroke Hill High School	25th
2005	Ladue Middle School	7th	Summit Lakes Middle School	32nd		Pembroke Hill High School	17th	Oak Park High School	18th
2006	Ladue Middle School (104)	14th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (126)	15th	Summit Lakes Middle School (163)	Oak Park High School (127)	26th	Pembroke Hill High School (136)	29th	North Kansas City High School (211)
2007	Pembroke Hill Middle School	16th	Ladue Middle School	T-17th		Pembroke Hill High School	24th	Oak Park High School	27th
2008	Pembroke Hill Middle School	12th	Summit Lakes Middle School	27th		Ladue Horton Watkins High School	16th	Oak Park High School	24th
2009	Pembroke Hill Middle School (105)	13th	Ladue Middle School (111)	26th		Ladue Horton Watkins High School (110)	25th	Pembroke Hill High School (161)	35th
2010	Ladue Middle School (93)	11th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (132)	22nd		Ladue Horton Watkins High School (129)	21st	Pembroke Hill High School (130)	27th
2011	Pembroke Hill Middle School (95)	9th	Ladue Middle School (147)	27th		Ladue Horton Watkins High School (96)	25th	Pembroke Hill High School (101)	34th	John Burroughs School (113)
2012	Ladue Middle School (70)	22nd	Pembroke Hill Middle School (71)	18th		Pembroke Hill High School (57)	26th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (90)	19th
2013	Ladue Middle School (79)	22nd	Pembroke Hill Middle School (101)	19th		Ladue Horton Watkins High School (100)	32nd	Pembroke Hill High School (118)	34th
2014	Ladue Middle School (62)	8th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (66)	13th		Pembroke Hill High School (132)	28th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (142)	39th
2015	Ladue Middle School (59)	13th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (67)	15th	Wydown Middle School (195)	Pembroke Hill High School (87)	33rd	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (122)	38th	John Burroughs School (129)
2016	Ladue Middle School (72)	14th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (108)	27th	Wydown Middle School (167)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (93)	21st	Pembroke Hill High School (97)	26th	John Burroughs School (139)
2017	Ladue Middle School (65)	14th	Wydown Middle School (103)	33rd	Pembroke Hill Middle School (104)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (60)	11th	Pembroke Hill High School (104)	23rd	Rock Bridge High School (168)
2018	Pembroke Hill Middle School (69)	22nd	Ladue Middle School (70)	N/A	Wydown Middle School (115)	Pembroke Hill High School (61)	19th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (74)	N/A	John Burroughs School (167)
2019	Ladue Middle School (69)	11th	Wydown Middle School (117)	N/A	Pembroke Hill Middle School (139)	Pembroke Hill High School (82)	24th	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (94)	N/A	Clayton High School (161)
2020	Cancelled due to the 2019-20 Coronavirus outbreak
2021	Ladue Middle School (23)	13th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (50)	37th	Central Middle School (67)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (28)	22nd	Pembroke Hill High School (51)	N/A	Clayton High School (74)
2022	Ladue Middle School (53)	19th	Pembroke Hill Middle School (58)	25th	Wydown Middle School (139)	Pembroke Hill High School (95)	31st	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (101)	N/A	Clayton High School (158)
2023	Pembroke Hill Middle School (59)	16th	Ladue Middle School (69)	14th	Wydown Middle School (136)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (67)	22nd	Pembroke Hill High School (101)	35th	Lindbergh High School (191)
2024	Pembroke Hill Middle School (68)	24th	Ladue Middle School (70)	8th	Wydown Middle School (95)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (49)	22nd	Pembroke Hill High School (57)	29th	Clayton High School (143)
2025	Ladue Middle School (46)		Pembroke Hill Middle School (58)		Wydown Middle School (126)	Ladue Horton Watkins High School (51)		Pembroke Hill High School (71)	N/A	Clayton High School (136)

Format

Missouri runs a closed regional system, assigning teams to regionals geographically. Most regional tournaments in the state are combined B/C tournaments, while most invitationals are single-division. Missouri runs a regional event winner bid system, which qualifies the regional event champions from schools which did not qualify for the state tournament to compete in that specific event at the state tournament, eligible for medals but not accounted for in determining team rankings.

Competitions

See also: Regions of Missouri

Name	Type	Date	Division	Format
Washington University Invitational	Invitational	2025-12-06	B	In-person
Pembroke Hill Invitational	Invitational	2026-01-10	C	In-person
John Dedrick Memorial Tournament	Invitational	2026-01-31	C	In-person
Washington University Invitational	Invitational	2026-02-07	C	In-person
Missouri Region 1	Regional	2026-02-21	B/C	In-person
Missouri Region 2	Regional	2026-02-28	B/C	In-person
Missouri Region 3	Regional	2025-03-01	B/C	In-person
Missouri Region 5	Regional	2026-02-21	B/C	In-person
Missouri Region 6	Regional	2026-02-07	B	In-person
Missouri Region 6	Regional	2026-02-21	C	In-person
Missouri Region 7	Regional	2026-02-21	B/C	In-person
Missouri Region 8	Regional	2026-02-28	B/C	In-person
2026 Missouri State Tournament	State	2026-04-18	B/C	In-person

2025 Regional Restructure

Due to the University of Central Missouri hosting the 2025 Missouri State Tournament, UCM elected to not hold the Missouri Region 4 tournament for the 2025 season. Counties that were previously in Region 4 were reassigned for the 2025 season to Region 3, Region 5, and Region 7.

State Results

2000 B/C

2003 (Top 10) B/C

2006 B/C

2011 C

2015 B/C

2016 B/C

2017 B/C

2018 B/C

2019 B/C

2021 B/C

2022 B/C

2023 B/C

2024 B/C

2025 B/C

Teams

The following list reflects team registration in the 2024-2025 season. Schools in bold have qualified for the National Tournament in the past five years.

Region	Participating Schools: Division B	Participating Schools: Division C	Inactive Teams
Region 1 Major cities: St. Joseph Tournament Sites: Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville	King City Junior High School Pattonsburg Junior High School Princeton Junior High School Stanberry Junior High School	King City High School Maysville High School Northeast Nodaway High School Pattonsburg High School Princeton High School South Harrison High School Stanberry High School	Chillicothe Middle School Missouri Academy Robidoux Middle School South Harrison Middle School Southwest Livingston Junior High School Southwest Livingston High School
Region 2 Major cities: Hannibal, Kirksville Tournament Site: Truman State University, Kirksville	Brookfield Middle School Canton Junior High School Green City R1 Middle School Highland Junior High School Macon County R-IV Middle School Marceline High School Moberly Middle School Palmyra Middle School	Brookfield High School Canton High School Macon High School Marceline High School Moberly High School Palmyra High School Salisbury High School	Atlanta Junior High School Atlanta High School Brunswick Junior High School Brunswick High School Hannibal Middle School Kirksville High School Linn County Junior High School Linn County High School Mary Immaculate Middle School Milan High School Northeast Randolph County R-IV High School Smithton Middle School William Matthew Middle School
Region 3 Tournament Site: William Jewell College, Liberty	Clinton Middle School Concordia Junior High School Frontier School of Innovation Frontier School of Excellence Harrisonville Middle School Holden Middle School Kearney Middle School Lathrop Middle School Pembroke Hill Middle School Platte Purchase Middle School Plattsburg Middle School Richmond Middle School Robidoux Middle School St. Paul's Episcopal Day School Warrensburg Middle School	Frontier School of Excellence Frontier STEM High School Holden High School Kearney High School Lafayette County High School North Kansas City High School Oak Park High School Pembroke Hill High School Plattsburg High School St. Teresa's Academy Staley High School Warrensburg High School Winnetonka High School	Barry School Barstow School Braymer High School Concordia High School Excelsior Springs Middle School Excelsior Springs High School Hume Middle School Hume High School Lexington Middle School Northland Christian High School Oak Grove Middle School Platte City Middle School Platte County High School Rich Hill Junior High School Rich Hill High School Richmond High School Whitefield Christian Academy
Region 5 Major cities: Columbia, Jefferson City, Rolla Tournament Site: Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla	Boonville R1 Middle School Columbia Independent School Cuba Middle School Gentry Middle School Jefferson Middle School Lange Middle School Rolla Middle School Steelville Middle School Thomas Jefferson Middle School	Battle High School Cole Camp High School Columbia Independent School Hickman High School Rock Bridge High School Rolla High School Steelville High School	Cuba High School John Warner Middle School Lebanon High School Smithton Middle School St. Patrick School Union Middle School Waynesville High School West Middle School
Region 6 Tournament Sites: Lindenwood University, St. Charles	Franklin County Junior High School John Burroughs School Ladue Middle School Parkway Central Middle School Sperreng Middle School Union Middle School Wydown Middle School	Clayton High School Duchesne High School Fort Zumwalt West High School John Burroughs School Ladue Horton Watkins High School Lindbergh High School Marquette High School Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School Parkway North High School Parkway South High School Parkway West High School St. Louis University High School Union High School	McKinley Classical Junior Academy Parkway Central High School Parkway Northeast Middle School Parkway West Middle School Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill High School
Region 7 Major cities: Joplin, Springfield, Branson Tournament Site: Missouri State University, Springfield	Billings Junior High School Bolivar Middle School Central Middle School Greenwood Lab Middle School Immaculate Conception Middle School Pershing Middle School Pleasant Hope Middle School St. Agnes Middle School St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School Summit Intermediate School Taneyville Middle School Willard Middle School	Billings High School Bolivar High School Carthage High School Central High School Glendale High School Greenwood Lab High School Hillcrest High School Kickapoo High School Monett High School Ozark High School Parkview High School Pleasant Hope High School Springfield Catholic High School Willard High School	Carver Middle School Cherokee Middle School Fordland Middle School Hickory Hills Middle School Jarrett Middle School Joplin High School Lutie High School Mountain Grove Middle School Ozark Middle School Pipkin Middle School The Summit Preparatory School Webb City High School
Region 8 Major cities: Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff Tournament Site: Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau	Arcadia Valley Middle School East Prairie Junior High School	Arcadia Valley High School Bloomfield High School East Prairie High School Sikeston High School Viburnum High School	Chaffee High School Fredericktown High School New Madrid County Central High School Scott City High School Sikeston Junior High School