On March 20 and March 21, the Scarsdale High School Science Olympiad team traveled to Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York to compete in the New York State Science Olympiad Tournament. After securing a victory at the Lower Hudson Regional Tournament, where they beat 26 other teams, the team entered states with high expectations. Students competed in a wide variety of events, ranging from hands-on building events to written tests on subjects such as chemistry, forensics, and geology.

Leading up to the regional and state competitions, Scarsdale participated in a number of invitational tournaments held both in person and online. “These competitions were crucial in helping our team members get a sense of their events,” team co-captain Rishi Singhal ’27 said. Scarsdale performed particularly well at the annual MIT Invitational, where they competed in person against several other notable teams from across the country. “It got us in the mind frame of what we should be doing and how we should be preparing to compete with these high-level teams,” SHS Science Olympiad Coach Kevin Viviano said.

Following a series of invitationals, Scarsdale competed at regionals on February 7th. For the team, success at this competition was especially important, as it determined qualification for states and served as an opportunity to showcase the work students had put in throughout the season. Scarsdale performed exceptionally well this year, with the B team placing 15th and the A team placing 1st overall, securing SHS a bid to the state competition. Across both teams, SHS students won 19 medals. 

At states, Scarsdale ultimately placed 30th out of 60 teams, earning 4 medals in total; they earned top 10 medals in Bungee Drop and Chemistry Lab, along with silver medals in the Hovercraft and Machines events.  

Unfortunately, the team faced an added challenge, as several seniors were unable to attend the competition and were replaced by underclassmen who were less familiar with their respective events.

Despite the setback, SHS Science Olympiad Coach Jennifer Wagner remains optimistic about future state competitions. “Those underclassmen now are learning how to compete on the state level, ” Wagner explained. “[This year’s] experience probably taught them how to study better for next year.”

With strong results at regionals and a drive to improve at states, students’ hard work was evident. “All of the students that are part of Science Olympiad, even at home, were definitely working. In the weeks leading up to the competition, there were students here until 5 or 6 o’clock at night either prepping their binders with material or testing their devices for a build event,” Viviano recalled. “We put in pretty consistent work…and we definitely put in a lot of effort for regionals,” Wagner said, agreeing with Viviano’s sentiment. 

Science Olympiad is already planning ahead, reviewing next year’s event pool and beginning early preparations. “We are always trying to improve while still having some fun and making some great memories,” Singhal said. Looking forward, SHS is expecting continued growth. “We have a great group of freshmen,” Wagner said. “I feel very promising for next year and the two years after.”