Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Olympiad Team Advances

PORT JEFFERSON, NEW YORK (JANUARY 2025)—The Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Science Olympiad A team earned a spot at the state competition after an outstanding performance at the Eastern Long Island Regional Science Olympiad on January 25, at Hauppauge High School. The Port Jefferson team placed 2nd out of 63 teams, securing one of only eight spots representing Eastern Long Island at the New York State Science Olympiad at Le Moyne College, which will be held in Syracuse, NY, from March 21 through 23.

In addition to the A team’s remarkable achievement, Port Jefferson's B team placed 6th and the C team placed 34th, all demonstrating the strength of the school's science program. With 23 STEM events—ranging from Air Trajectory to Write It, Do It—the competition showcased the students' impressive breadth of knowledge, hard work, and collaboration across a variety of scientific disciplines.

Notable Results and Medalists

Several students earned individual recognition for their accomplishments. Congratulations to the following medal-winning teams:

• Air Trajectory- 6th (A) Mari Fukuto & Kevin Hong, 8th (B) Yosef Mimarbasi & Evan Monaghan
• Anatomy- 8th (A) Isaac Rubenstein & Alice Snyder
• Astronomy- 1st (A) Emily Snyder & Jonah Boerboom, 8th (B) Mahati Sistla & Benjamin Batter
• Chemistry Lab- 9th (A) Devon Welsch & Avery Eisaman
• Codebusters- 3rd (A) Kenshin Sugimoto, Emily Snyder, & Jonah Boerboom
• Disease Detectives- 8th (A) Chris Nam & Narin Karakurum, 5th (B) Ronan Moore & Joshua Kwon
• Dynamic Planet- 8th (A) Narin Karakurum & Dasha Zakharova, 4th (B) Marco Puopolo & Evan Monaghan
• Ecology- 6th (A) Alice Snyder & Thales Cheng
• Electric Vehicle- 5th (A) Kieran Casey & Kevin Hong
• Entomology- 2nd (A) Jonah Boerboom & Kenshin Sugimoto, 5th (B) Mahati Sistla & Deia Colosi
• Experimental Design- 5th (A) Kevin Hong, Kenshin Sugimoto, & Isaac Rubenstein, 6th (B)Yosef Mimarbasi, Jax Moore, & Evan Monaghan
• Forensics- 8th (A)Thales Cheng & Avery Eisaman, 3rd (B) Jax Moore & Sean Grossman
• Helicopter- 7th (A) Kieran Casey & Kevin Hong
• Material Science- 3rd (A) Avery Eisaman & Chris Nam, 4th (B) Mahati Sistla & Deia Colosi
• Optics- 1st (A) Emily Snyder & Devon Welsch
• Microbe Mission- 6th (A) Alice Snyder & Kenshin Sugimoto
• Tower- 2nd (A) Max Joyner & Dasha Zakharova
• Wind Power- 10th (A) Max Joyner & Mari Fukuto
• Write It, Do It- 2nd (A) Isaac Rubenstein & Mari Fukuto

In total, Port Jefferson's teams earned numerous medals in various events, showcasing the talent, dedication, and teamwork of the students involved.
"I was stunned and impressed with all three of the teams this year!” said Coach Perovich. “All the teams were almost in the top half of the region, demonstrating the amount of teamwork and preparation each person put into their events to contribute to such a successful team."
“This group of students has worked so cohesively and so hard all year preparing for this competition,” Coach Garcia added. “We are so proud of their success and cannot wait for States.”
In addition to the dedicated coaching, the students were supported by a talented group of science teachers: Mr. Maletta, Mr. Gorniok, Mr. Bouchard, Ms. Sklar, and Ms. Weaver, as well as Teaching Assistant Mr. Holland, who accompanied the team at the event. The State Competition promises to be another exciting chapter for the Port Jefferson Science Olympiad team, and they look forward to representing the region at Le Moyne College this March.

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.