On March 10th, the Ward Melville Science Olympiad team competed at Le Moyne College for the 2018 New York State tournament after placing first at the regional level. After months of hard work and dedication, the team performed extremely well, placing third in the state–just one place shy of qualifying for the national tournament.

Science Olympiad competitions are composed of several events in which members of each team compete in. The events cover a broad range of science disciplines, ranging from Chemistry Lab to Hovercraft. Each student usually participates in three to four events with various partners. Teams receive a placement for each event at the awards ceremony which are then added up to form the team’s total score. Teams with lower scores place higher in the overall tournament.

While the team is disappointed that they will not be advancing on to nationals this year, they performed extraordinarily well at what is one of the most competitive tournaments of the year. Earning a total score of under 200 is extremely impressive; it was their best score in the past five years. “We almost closed the gap with the second place team, and if we continue to practice like we did this year, I’m confident that we can qualify for nationals next year,” claims Sahil Sangwan, a member of the Ward Melville Science Olympiad team.

Many on the team shares his sentiment. However, Science Olympiad is more than just about the competitions. Captain Emily Huang believes that “Even though the team as a whole wasn’t very close in the beginning of the year, it’s grown into a supportive and close knit team.”

For many, the team has become family. Sangwan agrees, “We… got to know each other really well. I’ve come to view my teammates as a family and value the experiences we’ve had together.”

The Ward Melville Science Olympiad team will have another shot at qualifying for nationals in the following year. We wish them the best of luck!