Port Jeff Science Olympiad Team Qualifies For State Competition

PORT JEFFERSON, NY — The Port Jefferson Middle School Science Olympiad Team placed third out of 35 competing teams at the Suffolk County Regional Division B Science Olympiad competition, recently held at Candlewood Middle School, the Port Jefferson School District announced via news release.

Their ranking allows them to compete against the best teams across New York State on April 17 and 18 at East Syracuse Minoa High School in Syracuse.

Students in grades 6 through 9 competed in events which tested their study skills in earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering and scientific problem-solving. Coached by Adam Bouchard, the school’s earth science and Science 8 teacher, the students had a dominant performance and received medals in 21 of 23 events.

"Every student was highly motivated and showed a lot of hard work in preparing for their events," Bouchard said. "It truly showed this year with the team’s outstanding performance competing with the top teams of the county."

The Port Jefferson School District congratulated the medal winners:

• 1st Place - Ben Perez-Flesler and Michelle Wu for Dynamic Planet
• 1st place - Ben Perez-Flesler and Michelle Wu for Water Quality
• 2nd place - Alana Samara and Iris He for Fossils
• 2nd place - Eric Chen and Kathleen Zhou for Heredity
• 2nd place - Ben Perez-Flesler and Riley Perrotta for Meteorology
• 2nd place - Teppei Fukuto and Ryan Gameng for Ping Pong Parachute
• 3rd place - Ben Perez-Flesler and Gavin Onghai for Anatomy
• 3rd place - Alana Samara and Michelle Wu for Crime Busters
• 3rd place - Gavin Onghai and Teppei Fukuto for Density Lab
• 3rd place - Nicholas Smirnov and Eric Chen for Ornithology
• 3rd place - Ben Perez-Flesler, Iris He and Max Paulus for Science Quiz Bowl
• 4th place - Emily Ambrozy and Katie Chambers for Elastic Launched Glider
• 4th place - Emily Ambrozy and Katie Chambers for Write It Do It
• 5th place - Emily Ambrozy and Isabelle Chen for Crime Buster
• 5th place - Gavin Onghai and Alana Samara for Disease Detectives
• 5th place - Teppei Fukuto and Riley Perrotta for Mission Possible
• 5th place - Mari Fukuto and Kevin Hong for Ping Pong Parachute
• 5th place - Carman Stanton and Nicholas Smirnov for Write It Do It
• 6th place - Riley Perrotta and Kathleen Zhou for Reach for the Stars
• 6th place - Eric Chen and Ryan Gameng for Road Scholar
• 7th place - Connor Lioio and Max Joyner for Mission Possible
• 8th place - Marco Puopolo and Violet Kim for Anatomy
• 8th place - Katherine Ranjbar and Emily Snyder for Circuit Lab
• 9th place - Katherine Ranjbar for Reach for the Stars
• 10th place - Max Paulus and Carman Stanton for Circuit Lab
• 10th place - Mari Fukuto and Kevin Hong for Mission Possible