The Earl L. Vandermeulen High School Science Olympiad team competed in the New York State Science Olympiad against the best teams across the state at Le Moyne College in Syracuse this past weekend. They were one of only six teams from Long Island in the competition.

Accompanied by advisers and science teachers Amanda Brideson and Adam Bouchard and chaperones Danny Holland and Nicole Sklar, the team came in 25th place out of a total of 56 teams and came home with three medals.

Sinan Ates, Chloe Andriani and Peggy Yin placed third in the Protein Modeling category; Grant Samara and Aaron Held placed fifth in the Fossils category and Reid Biondo and Aaron Held also placed fifth in the Water Quality category.

“We are extremely proud and impressed with all of the hard work our entire team has put in this year in our STEM science events,” said Ms. Brideson. “Their hard work and dedication to the Science Olympiad team shows through their awards and standings,” added Mr. Bouchard.

The district congratulates all the members of the team who continue to refine their skills for competition and future careers: seniors Chloe Andriani, Gavin Barrett, Reid Biondo, Ju Eun Ha, Eadan McSweeney, David Rotunno and Christine Scott; juniors Sinan Ates, Gavin Chambers, Kyle Onghai, Dylan Scott and Gil Zaltsman; and sophomores Gani Ates, Liam Gameng Aaron Held, Grant Samara and Peggy Yin.