The high school hosted its third annual Science Olympiad invitational tournament on Dec. 12, drawing teams from 55 schools from across Long Island, upstate New York, New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. More than 800 students competed in events focused on areas in science and engineering, including the 23 national Science Olympiad events, the two New York State trial events and two fun trivia events.

Currently the only tournament of its kind on Long Island at the high school level, this invitational event was sponsored by Long Island Stem Hub, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Molloy College and Stony Brook University. Stony Brook student volunteers assisted with running and grading of the events 

The competition was tight, with the top five teams separated by a mere 35 points. First place out of 55 was Team A from Bayard Rustin High School of West Chester, Pennsylvania, with 143 points. Rounding out the top five were Princeton High School from New Jersey in second (156 points), Ward Melville High School from East Setauket in third (163 points), Spackenkill High School from Poughkeepsie in fourth (163 points) and West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North from New Jersey in fifth (178 points). Islip’s own three teams finished 25th, 31st and 46th.

High school teams participate in regional competitions like Islip’s to earn a chance to reach state competitions, held in March.

“The national events held each year consistently change in an effort to stay current with the ever-changing knowledge in the areas of biology, chemistry, physics, geology, mechanical engineering and technology,” said Matthew Christiansen, the high school’s science/business chairperson. “In order to be successful, students must be able to work together in order to prepare for either the written examinations or the trials of their built devices. The invitational tournaments therefore help the attendees gauge areas where they might need further preparation before the decisive regional competitions.”