Port Jefferson Middle School Science Olympiad Team Excels at New York State Competition

Port Jefferson Middle School’s Science Olympiad team delivered an outstanding performance at the 2026 New York State Science Olympiad Competition, earning a 25th-place overall finish out of 217 schools from across New York State and bringing home three event medals.

The state competition was held April 24–25 at East Syracuse Minoa High School and featured top-performing schools representing 11 regional competitions throughout the state. Competing against some of New York’s strongest middle school science teams, Port Jefferson students demonstrated exceptional dedication, teamwork, and scientific knowledge across a wide range of challenging events.

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The team was accompanied by Coach Adam Bouchard, teacher Stacy Buehler, teacher Gina Fedler, and teacher assistant Dannie Holland, all of whom praised the students for their commitment and effort throughout the season and competition.

“The students worked hard and learned scientific concepts at a very high level,” said Mr. Bouchard. “Everyone enjoyed being in Syracuse, which is always a great trip, and we hope to return next year and build upon our team’s successes. We have a bright future with some of the young, talented minds on this team, and they have not yet reached their full potential. Congratulations to the medal winners who should be proud of what they achieved.”

Port Jefferson earned medals in the following events:

• 5th Place – Hovercraft: Oliver Chesler and Ari Gearns
• 6th Place – Disease Detectives: Kieran Browne and Austin Nam
• 9th Place – Remote Sensing: Kieran Browne and Austin Nam

Additional team members and alternates who represented Port Jefferson Middle School at the state competition included Timothy Amadio, Liliana DiSanza, Chloe Kelly, Violet Perez-Flesler, Ruairi Hogan, Aiza Khan, Rahym Kahn, Klea Mehmeti, Madison Menninger, Edmund Nida, Max Quartararo, Maya Salman, Kaho Sugimoto, Saya Sugimoto, Alice Turner, and Dean Zaltsman.

The district congratulates the entire Science Olympiad team and coaching staff on an impressive season and their strong showing at the state level.

For more information regarding the Port Jefferson School District and its students’ many achievements, please visit the District’s website at https://www.portjeffschools.org and follow its Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/PortJeffSchools.