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Keith Schmid felt the pressure as he competed at Delaware Envirothon, even after hours spent memorizing the scientific names of trees and identifying leaves.

This was the first time the sophomore at Odessa High School competed at the event — and the rookie didn’t want to make any mistakes that could cost his team their first victory.

“I know these guys watched me shake like there was no tomorrow,” Keith recalls.

Envirothon is an environmental science competition that tests high school students’ knowledge of several disciplines, such as aquatic ecology, forestry, and soil and land use.

Teams of five must deliver oral presentations, complete written exams and tackle hands-on challenges in nature, such as measuring tree density. Envirothon not only develops teens’ critical thinking and leadership skills, but also molds them into environmental stewards.

Keith understood that a win for Odessa would be a challenge. The Charter School of Wilmington has dominated the competition for 22 years straight, advancing to the National Conservation Foundation’s international Envirothon each year.

But Odessa was determined to end the winning streak that spanned more than two decades.

Keith recalls waiting anxiously with his teammates under a tent at Blackbird State Forest in Smyrna last month as event organizers announced the results one by one.

“And then the first place team was getting ready to be announced, and it was either going to be us, or we flunked,” he said. “And everybody screamed and jumped the second that we heard ‘Odessa.’”

‘Shock and surprise’

Odessa High School were the highest scorers in five of the seven categories at Envirothon — ultimately beating 21 teams.

The top seven teams included three from the Charter School of Wilmington and two from Newark Charter School.

Event organizers say Odessa’s win over Wilmington Charter was an astounding upset.

The high-performing charter school has an impressive track record of winning countless state-wide and national events — from science competitions to mock trials. Last month, the school won the national Samsung Solve for Tomorrow STEM competition.

“You say, ‘Oh, Charter’s won it again,’ but they earned it,” said Rick Mickowski, who chaired Delaware Envirothon for almost two decades. “There was a sense of inevitability that they were always good contenders, that they would be winning it every year. That’s why it was such a shock and a surprise when Odessa won.”

Wilmington Charter’s success is due in part to the school’s exceptionally high standards, Mickowski said. And, while teams from other public schools may split their time between extracurricular activities, Wilmington Charter teams typically dedicate most of their time to the sciences.

A mere interest in environmental science simply is not enough.

“[Their teacher] has his own competition,” Mickowski said. “[Students] go through a kind of testing process to get on his teams. He’s pretty serious about it.”

But another group of driven teens, and their equally ambitious agriculture teacher, were just as hungry for the top prize.

There was already a buzz about Odessa High leading up to this year’s Envirothon. The 5-year-old school was nipping at Wilmington Charter’s heels — placing second last year.

“I don’t think they’re too fond of us, but that’s okay,” said Zachary Binnie, a junior at Odessa, about their competitors. “I know that at the end of the day, I love the hard work that they put in. I know our team really admires them because they’ve had us working for all these years to try and beat them.”

The friendly rivalry helped push Odessa to their first win. The painted ceramic winner’s plaque that remained steadfast inside the walls of Wilmington Charter, now hangs in Odessa High’s agriculture education lab.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had five students put in the effort that this group did,” said Jeff Billings, the agriscience teacher who led Odessa to their win.

Billings had been yearning for the title for years. As a teenager, he competed at Delaware Envirothon on a team from Caesar Rodney High School, placing second. As a teacher, he also took Middletown High School to the competition.

Billings had 100 goals at the start of his teaching career, and winning Envirothon was the only one he had yet to check off his list.

“I’m competitive by nature, but then when the same school wins over, and over, and over, you get hungry for that,” he said.

Wilmington Charter held on for a strong second place finish. Greg Darone, the school’s science teacher who leads teams to Envirothon, said in an email he was impressed by his students’ scores.

“Our teams tried some new techniques and strategies for training and practicing, and I think they were successful,” he said. “It is always disappointing to break a winning streak we have had going for a long time, but Odessa worked incredibly hard this year and performed great.”

‘Signs and superstitions: It was meant to be’

After learning a valuable lesson last year about how to accept defeat with grace, Odessa put in the extra work to prepare for the 2025 Delaware Envirothon.

Leading up to the big day, the team met after school and on weekends, holding each other accountable while providing emotional support. Having only a few productive practice sessions, rather than training 24/7, made the experience less stressful.

“Because we had experienced loss before, I feel like we were more ready to make sure we took the exact steps we needed to make sure we won,” said Joseph Delaney, a junior who specializes in air quality.

Having some game day superstitions didn’t hurt.

“I don’t wash my [team] jacket. I believe it’s going to wash the good luck away,” said Zachary, the team’s soils expert, with a bashful laugh.

When the team arrived at Blackbird State Forest to compete, a sign of their imminent victory appeared before them in the form of T-shirts.

For the last few years, competitors wore blue Envirothon T-shirts. This year, they were green and yellow — Odessa’s school colors.

“The first thing you said was, ‘Maybe it’s meant to be this time,’” Joseph said.

Whether it was the T-shirts  — or more likely, their hard work — the team was ahead from the get-go, receiving perfect scores on the first two rotations.

As soon as they were called to receive their first-place medals, the team screamed and jumped for joy. Zachary, who was hyped up after drinking a Monster energy drink, grabbed the nearest person and shook him, excited that his team’s hard work had finally paid off.

The team said the “life-changing” experience has provided direction and purpose, but above all, friendship.

“They are like my family,” said aquatics expert Kalena Diaz, who graduates next month. “I would do anything for them, no matter what, and it’s all been through these contests.”

The team members were each awarded a $500 college scholarship as first-place winners. They also receive an all-expenses paid trip to Alberta, Canada in July — where they’ll compete against teams from the U.S., Canada, China and Singapore.

As their mentor, Billings said he couldn’t be prouder.

“You do the contest for more than one year, you bring in the right group of students, encourage each other to maximize their efforts and results do come out of it,” he said. “I don’t ever put the pressure like, ‘You have to win.’ Learning and growing is the key — but winning sure is nice. There’s nothing wrong with that.”