By: Nicholas Sathi ’20

         For any competitive team in any sport or activity, a major goal is to start the competition season in a positive way. Chaminade’s two Science Olympiad teams accomplished this goal last Saturday at the 6th Annual Long Island Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament at Kellenberg Memorial High School. Both teams performed admirably with  the varsity team performing exceptionally well, placing 14th out of the 57 teams.

         Starting at 8 a.m., the students participated in a long day of taking exams, testing devices, and anxiously waiting for results.  At around 5 p.m., the awards ceremony began. For each event, the top 8 groups of participants in the entire tournament received medals in recognition of their achievements. Members of Chaminade’s varsity squad were called up many times for various events. Receiving a medal for finishing in 7th place in astronomy, Nicholas Newton ’19 and Mark Vincent Guevarra ’19 were the first Flyers to be mentioned. From then onward, the list continued to grow. Dylan Richardson ’19 and Joseph Shammas ’22 won a medal for their 7th-place finish in Boomilever; Nicholas Newton ’19, Patrick Haran ’21, and Drew Kuroda ’19 placed 4th in Codebusters; Jack Mannion ’20 and Nicholas Sathi ’20 placed 8th in Dynamic Planet; Dylan Richardson ’19 and Joseph Shammas ’22 placed 6th in Mission Possible; Ryan Schmidt ’19 and Nicholas Sathi ’20 placed 1st in Water Quality. In addition to the students who won medals, many others were only a few spots away from placing in the top 8, and for that, along with the rest of the students who competed, their efforts are commended.

         Reflecting on the team’s overall performance, Ryan Schmidt ’19, one of the club’s presidents, said, “For the first tournament and considering we have a very young team, I was very pleased with the results. The team showed great determination, and it was a learning process for all. It felt very good to be that competitive so early on in the season. There were a few problems that we need to address, but I am confident and looking forward to the Columbia High School Invitational next month, as I think we have a lot of potential.”

         Drew Kuroda ’19, who had a very successful day, expressed hopeful optimism for the remainder of the season, saying, “If we continue to put in the same effort and study, we can hope to return with stronger performances in the future.”

         The next few months will certainly be busy for the Science Olympiad teams as they have many tournaments scheduled. The ultimate goal is to win or get very close to winning the Regional Tournament in February in order to qualify for the State Tournament in March. With the success the team has already exhibited this year in addition to the hard work they will continue putting in, these students are destined to shine and to achieve their goals.