Thirty-nine students from MMI Preparatory School, Freeland, earned awards during the regional convention of the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS), hosted by King's College in Wilkes-Barre.

Of those, 30 MMI students earned first-place awards and will continue to the state-level competition at the PJAS State Convention, hosted by the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, in May.Seven MMI students earned perfect scores. They were David Polashenski, son of Edward and Jessica Polashenski, Drums; Justin Sheen, son of Chaeyun and Kwangsup Sheen, Mountaintop; Joey Hornak, son of Michael and Mary Frances Hornak, Hazle Township; Claire Sheen, daughter of Chaeyun and Kwangsup Sheen, Mountaintop; Kirsten Young, daughter of Bradley and Wendy Young, Drums; Nick O'Clair, son of Timothy and Candice O'Clair, Drums; and Matt Yurish, son of Thomas and JuleAnn Yurish, Freeland.Earning first-place awards were Shital Patel, daughter of Minaben and Dilipkumar Patel, Drums; Yusuf Qadri, son of Syed and Saffiyah Qadri, Drums; Maria Carrato, daughter of Anthony and Carmine Carrato, Hazleton; Katlyn Frey, daughter of Eric Frey, Lancaster, and Jaclyn Fowler, Drifton; Laurel Jacketti-Funk, daughter of Wayne Funk and Maria Jacketti-Funk, Hazleton; Gabriella Lobitz, daughter of Mark and Stephanie Lobitz, Hazleton; Bala Natarajan, son of Rajamanickam and Vijayalakshmi Natarajan, Mountaintop; Paul Brasavage, who won two first-place awards, son of Mark and Bernadette Brasavage, Freeland; Matt Straub, son of Calvin and Tina Straub, Hazle Township; Binki Baxi, daughter of Nilesh and Shital Baxi, Mountaintop; Nick O'Clair, son of Timothy and Candice O'Clair, Drums; Medina Saeed, daughter of Zubeen Saeed, Mountaintop; Anjni Patel, daughter of Praful and Bhavna Patel, Beaver Meadows; Megan Klein, daughter of Edward and Susan Klein, Drums; Sarah Moyer, daughter of Robert and Susan Moyer, Bowmanstown; Matt Yurish, son of Thomas and JuleAnn Yurish, Freeland; David Polashenski, son of Edward and Jessica Polashenski, Drums; Justin Sheen, son of Chaeyun and Kwangsup Sheen; Lora Schell, daughter of David Schell, Fern Glen, and Crystal Schell, Freeland; Dhiren Patel, son of Manoj and Bhavana Patel, Hazleton; Joey Hornak, son of Michael and Mary Frances Hornak, Hazle Township; Mike McGraw, son of Patrick and Michele McGraw, Mountaintop; Tim Yurish, son of JuleAnn and Thomas Yurish, Freeland; Gabriella Becker, daughter of Susan Becker, Lake Harmony; Annika Fisk, daughter of Douglas and Sandra Fisk, Conyngham; Emily Morrison, daughter of Michael and Maria Morrison, Sugarloaf; Claire Sheen, daughter of Chaeyun and Kwangsup Sheen, Mountaintop; Ashley Acri, daughter of Louis and Loretta Acri, Hazleton; Aydun Adil, son of Orhan and Gyudzhan Osma, Hazleton; and Kirsten Young, daughter of Bradley and Wendy Young, Drums.Earning second-place awards were: Paige Darrow, daughter of John and Gertie Darrow, Hazleton; Joe Yamulla, son of Robert and Ann Yamulla, Sugarloaf; Luke Yamulla, son of son of Robert and Ann Yamulla, Sugarloaf; Alexis Haupt, daughter of David and Mary Ann Haupt, Hazle Township; Casey Olszewski, son of Nicole and Craig Borland, Weatherly, and Paul and Lisa Olszewski, Weatherly; Tyler Fulton, son of Rachel and James Kuchar, Freeland; and John Fulton, Drums; Amanda Lara, daughter of Guillermo and Sandra Lara, Hazleton; and Cory Heffelfinger, son of Edward and Margarete Heffelfinger, Drums.Sara Aijaz, daughter of Fakhruddin and Naghma Aijaz, Mountaintop, earned a third-place award.Joey Hornak, Shital Patel and Nick O'Clair also won excellence awards in Chemistry,Biochemistry and Botany, respectively.PJAS advisers at MMI are Laura Petro, Susan Moyer, Mary-Lee Hood, Justin Vincent, Matt Kenenitz and Michael Mele.