H-ton Wins STEP Science Bowl
State Title
A team of six exceptional Huntington High School students claimed the STEP Regional Science Bowl state championship in a grueling competition at Farmingdale State University.
The Huntington team consisting of captain Emaad Khwaja, Jessica Bonilla, Sabrina Palacios, Jason Stickell, Frank Yeh and Josh Watkins proved too much for opposing high school squads to handle. "I found this competition very, very intriguing and engaging," said Mr. Yeh.
Farmingdale's STEP program was establishing during the1989/90 academic year. It is one of 50 such programs in the state serving students in grades 7-12. It encourages historically underrepresented students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The Science Bowl follows a format similar to "Jeopardy" and features teams competing against one in consecutive rounds until a champion emerges.
The winning Huntington STEP Science Bowl team would have advanced to the national finals in Washington, DC, but a different Huntington High School Science Bowl team had already qualified for the national championships by winning the Long Island championship earlier this winter at Brookhaven National Lab in Upton. "The rulebook for the national Science Bowl states that only one team per school may enter," Mr. Yeh explained.
The Huntington STEP squad was coached at Farmingdale by teacher Lori Kenny, who heads the high school science research program. The day began with a round robin style competition before moving to the semi-final and then final rounds.
Huntington advanced to the semi-finals after going 3-1 in the round robin session with victories over Farmingdale II, RPI and Lafayette and a loss to South Side of Rockville Centre. Huntington squared off against tough Farmingdale I in the semi-finals. "They were a very good team and our scores were neck-and-neck up to the last seconds," Mr. Yeh said. "Then we tied, so we had to go into tie-breaker, which we won and advanced to finals. Farmingdale won this competition last year and went to the nationals, so they were a crazy hard opponent."
In a rematch between the teams, Huntington topped rugged South Side in the finals. However, since Huntington was ineligible to advance to the national championships, South Side and Farmingdale faced-off with South Side emerging with the victory and a ticket to Washington, DC.
"The team knew going in that no matter the outcome that they couldn't attend the nationals," Mrs. Kenny said. "I am so proud of a team that wanted to go and compete regardless of being able to represent at the national level. This team just shows me how awesome our students are and how dedicated they are to striving for excellence.
"As for me, it's my first and last time doing this," said Mr. Yeh, a senior. "I would love to do it again, but my time is up. I met a lot of new people and formed some new friendships among my team members and with other teams."
The STEP Science Bowl competition drew high school teams from across New York. Huntington's squad was selected by Mrs. Kenny and fellow science research teacher Dame Forbes. "The students were very excited and were truly satisfied by their win," Mrs. Forbes said.
"Our day started with a fortune cookie telling us to 'trust your instinct,' and that is just what the team did," Mrs. Kenny said.