On Saturday, December 16th, the studious members of Ward Melville’s acclaimed Science Olympiad (SciO) team put their months of preparation to the test as they competed at their first competition of the season, the Long Island Science Olympiad (LISO) Invitational Tournament (formally known as the Islip Invitational).

LISO was initially scheduled to take place the weekend before at Islip High School, but was cancelled due to inclement weather conditions. News of the cancellation brought great disappointment to the Ward Melville SciO students, so they were extremely relieved when they heard that the competition was rescheduled. One team member remarked, “I felt disappointed that it was [initially] cancelled, since we worked really hard to prepare for it, so it was a great feeling to know it was rescheduled.”

An “invitational” tournament does not officially count toward whether the SciO team can move up to the next level of competition. Instead, invitational competition are useful as they are a good way for members to analyze their personal performance, and for coaches to determine which students are the strongest in each of the 23 events SciO members can compete in.

Ward Melville did an exceptional job as per usual, bringing home the first place trophy with a total of 19 medals. The tournament was overall an enjoyable and fruitful experience for all team members. As one SciO member commented, “It was a really fun experience. Everyone helped each other out and the mood of the whole team was really positive.” Ward Melville is known to be one of the best SciO teams nationally. After a devastating upset at States last year, team members are hopeful that they will reclaim a spot on the Nationals lineup this season. “It’s really amazing to be a part of one of the best teams, and [this win] makes me feel like the team’s hard work paid off. This year, I hope we get the chance to go back to nationals after missing out on it last year.”