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Stuyvesant’s team took seventh place at this year’s annual New York State Science Olympiad (NYSSO) Competition for Division C. The competition took place on Saturday, March 15 and Sunday, March 16 at West Point. Teams from 54 schools competed. The top two teams, Fayetteville-Manilus High School and Spackenkill High School, will move on to the national division of the Science Olympiad.

Senior and president of the Stuyvesant Science Olympiad team Eric Mayo said, “It’s our best finish ever. I’m very proud of the team and all that we’ve accomplished. Everyone did the best job that I’ve seen [Stuyvesant] do for all the four years that I’ve been in Science Olympiad.” Last year, the Stuyvesant team came in 10th place.

The NYSSO is a comprehensive competition that tests students in 25 events in various disciplines of science including biology, physics, chemistry, ecology, astronomy, oceanography, and forensic science. Each participating school prepares a team of 15 students who compete, two at a time, in different events. This year, Stuyvesant received first place medals in astronomy, cell biology, and health science.

The Stuyvesant team is advised by biology teachers Aimee Hill and Stephen McClellan, and Assistant Principal of Biology Elizabeth Fong.

“The kids work really hard. They run it by themselves. Other schools have classes to prepare [for the Science Olympiad], but [at Stuyvesant] Science Olympiad is purely extra-curricular,” McClellan said.

The Stuyvesant Science Olympiad team consists of about 70 students, many of whom came along to the state competition to cheer on their friends or to learn something new.

“It’s obviously a great thing to do. At one point we all become friends. It’s nice when you’re with other people who are as interested in science [as you are],” Mayo said.

The Stuyvesant Science Olympiad prepares for the NYSSO all year. Interest meetings are held at the beginning of the school year and the various departments of the team (biology, chemistry, earth science, physics, and technology) start preparing immediately.

Senior and physics captain Danny Yuan said, “We have after-school meetings twice a week. For the meetings, the captains basically teach events to freshman and sophomores.” Yuan also said that the number of after-school meetings increases as the day of the NYSSO competition approaches.

According to Mayo, the only obstacles for Stuyvesant are financial concerns. “Personally, I think that we have the brains to compete. The problem with our team is that there are a lot of building events [which are costly and require completion before the actual competition],” Mayo said. “Our problem ends up not being brains, but money.”

The Stuyvesant team expects to keep doing better in the NYSSO in the future. Fong said, “We’re doing very well, so in a few years, we expect to be one or two. Everything good takes time.”