Five Huntington High School sophomores recently battled dozens of intellectually powerful students from across the metropolitan area at the Bay Scallop Bowl at Stony Brook University. The event is a regional qualifier for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
Huntington sophomores Graham Young, Michael McCooey, Erin Bonitz, Katherine Burton and Christiana DeLuca were impressive. Coached by science teachers Matthew Liguori and Dame Forbes, the teenagers finished in eighth place in the challenging competition, which was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The competition format featured a morning round robin that saw randomly selected teams from across the metropolitan area separated into divisions and playing each other to determine seeds based upon overall record and points.
Captained by Mr. McCooey, Huntington vied against teams from Massapequa, Mount Sinai, Woodlands in Hartsdale and last year’s champion, Midwood High School in Brooklyn. Midwood is the affiliated campus high school of Brooklyn College.
Huntington competed in the regional qualifer
of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl.
“The Bay Scallop Bowl was a fun event that combined competition with a love for the ocean and the environment,” Ms. DeLuca said. “I am really glad to have taken part in it this year!”
Mr. Liguori has been working with these same students for many years. “It started in eighth grade when he got a group of kids together that liked science,” Ms. DeLuca said. “It was supposed to be prepping us for the Science Bowl team at the high school, but the team unanimously decided to switch to the Ocean Sciences Bowl after discovering its existence.”
Huntington took on some of the top teams in early play to qualify for the winner’s bracket. “These dedicated students played their hearts out in suspenseful matches with the support of parents, grandparents, and friends filling the audience in support of the Blue Devil team,” Mr. Liguori said. “The team is already looking forward to next year with determination and vigor.”
Mr. Liguori is a Longwood High School graduate. He obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees at Stony Brook University.
“The National Ocean Science Bowl is an annual competition for high school students and is sponsored by the Washington D.C. based Consortium for Ocean Leadership. Ocean,” according to the competition website. “The objective of the NOSB is to raise awareness and understanding on the oceans and coastal resources among the nation’s high school students. Each year, the NOSB orchestrates 25 regional competitions distributed around the nation’s coastal areas, including the New York City metropolitan area.”
