Townsend Junior High eighth-graders Wynn Phaychanpheng and Audrey Sogata and Cal Aero Preserve Academy sixth-grader Alexandra Olivar are advancing to the California State Science Fair after winning first place gold medals in the junior division of the SIM Science and Engineering Fair in San Bernardino.

The State Science Fair will be April 24 and 25 at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Only gold medalists in sixth-grade through high school from the regional level move on to State competition.

The three State-bound students also won Broadcom MASTERS awards from the event, identifying them as Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Rising Stars. Society affiliated science fairs around the country nominate the top 10 percent of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade participants to enter this prestigious competition.