Port Jefferson Science Olympiad Team Wins 1st Place In Suffolk

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The Port Jefferson Middle School Science Olympiad Team won first place at the Suffolk County Regional Division B Science Olympiad Competition this year, according to a news release from the district. The competition was held virtually due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Students in grades 6 through 9 competed against 22 teams in events testing their study skills in the categories of biology, chemistry, earth science, engineering, physics and scientific problem-solving. Port Jefferson students earned medals in every event.

The team is slated to compete April 17 in the virtual state competition. Mr. Adam Bouchard, the middle school's earth science and eighth-grade science teacher, coaches the team.

"Every student was highly motivated and showed a lot of hard work in preparing for their events despite the circumstances and hardships to overcome," Bouchard said via the news release. "I
applaud their efforts and cannot wait to see how they do at the state level."

The Port Jefferson School District congratulated its medal winners:

• 1st Place, Anatomy — Isabelle Chen and Gavin Onghai
• 1st Place, Crime Busters — Alana Samara and Michelle Wu
• 1st Place, Disease Detectives — Gavin Onghai and Alana Samara
• 2nd Place, Reach for the Stars — Ryan Gameng
• 2nd Place, Water Quality — Max Joyner and Michelle Wu
• 3rd Place, Fossils — Alana Samara and Mari Fukuto
• 3rd Place, Reach for the Stars — Eric Chen and Nicholas Smirnov
• 4th Place, Dynamic Planet — Ryan Gameng and Christopher Nam
• 4th Place, Food Science — Max Joyner and Marco Puopolo
• 4th Place, Ornithology — Eric Chen and Nicholas Smirnov
• 5th Place, Heredity — Eric Chen and Nicholas Smirnov
• 5th Place, Machines — Max Joyner and Rumaan Khan
• 5th Place, Meteorology — Christopher Nam and Kristina Shterengas
• 6th Place, Crime Busters — Mari Fukuto and Kristina Shterengas
• 6th Place, Meteorology — Evan Monaghan
• 6th Place, Road Scholar — Ryan Gameng
• 7th Place, Circuit Lab — Rumaan Khan and Evan Monaghan
• 7th Place, Water Quality — Christopher Nam and Kristina Shterengas
• 8th Place, Anatomy — Iris He
• 8th Place, Density Lab — Isabelle Chen and Gavin Onghai
• 8th Place, Road Scholar — Eric Chen and Max Joyner
• 10th Place, Dynamic Planet — Marco Puopolo and Michelle Wu

Additional team members included Allie Blumenthal, Luca Caltagirone, Kieran Casey, Vincent Chen, William Harris, Joshua Kwon, David Morris, James Morris, Carman Stanton, Tucker Stanton and Dasha Zakharova.