Suffolk: William Floyd High School mock trial winners

For the second straight year, a team from William Floyd High School in Mastic Beach proved their legal chops by finishing first among Long Island schools in the 2011 New York State Mock Trial Tournament.

The competition, coordinated by the New York State Bar Association, required teens to act as prosecution or defense in a mock due process case involving a high schooler whose parking pass had been revoked without notice by the fictional Village of Empireville.

William Floyd outlasted 28 teams in a series of trials at the Suffolk County level and then defeated W. Tresper Clarke High School of East Meadow for the Long Island crown. Floyd placed fourth last month at the state level in Albany.

"We emphasize performance as much as case," said coach Bill Hennessy. "There's sizzle and there's steak. In mock trial, you have to have some sizzle."

The team's biggest challenge came outside of the courtroom, he said, after co-captain Logan Murphy was in a car crash that left him in a coma for two weeks just before the county competition. After Murphy recovered enough to get out of the hospital, he was able to join the team at the state level last month to offer moral support.

"It really affected the team," said co-captain Catie Ryan of Murphy's injury. "We weren't sure we'd make it without him; we pulled together for him."

Her teammates were

Gabriella Colarusso, Melissa Dubois, Erin Engelmann,

Jessica Furia, Mike Gross, Emily Vigliotta, Adam Henn, Kyle Imperatore, Dakota King, John Nelson and Chelsea Smart. Their legal adviser was Elizabeth Harrington.

Science Olympiad

Teams from Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School and Ward Melville High School placed seventh and 18th, respectively, out of 120 teams from 47 states in the 2011 National Science Olympiad last month in Wisconsin. It's the fifth time since 2006 Gelinas has been in the top 10. The schools placed second in their respective middle and high school levels at the regional and state levels. Competitions ranged from constructing a miniature catapult to constructing a mock crime.

BNL essay contest

Peter Ren, a student at Smithtown High School West, beat out 47 Suffolk County students to win first place and a $500 prize last month in a Science and Society Essay Contest coordinated by Brookhaven National Laboratory. The contest required students to address how nuclear proliferation could be managed at a time when global climate change may lead to increased nuclear energy growth.

Sanjay Palat of Smithtown High School East won second place.

COUNTYWIDE

LI Science Congress

Nineteen Suffolk County students were top winners this spring in the 2011 Long Island Science Congress at Farmingdale State College and were eligible to represent Long Island at the state level this weekend in Albany. The competition -- sponsored by Science Teachers Association of New York State -- is an annual display of research projects for grades 7-12.

ISLANDWIDE

Merit scholarships

Seventeen Long Island students were among about 2,900 nationwide last month to win college-sponsored scholarships of up to $2,000 annually from the National Merit Scholarship Corp. based on academic excellence, teacher recommendations and SAT scores.