Way to go: Daniel Barbakoff, Woodbury
Daniel Barbakoff, of Woodbury, recently claimed the state's top spot in a prestigious national exam.
The ninth-grader at Long Island School for the Gifted in Huntington Station was named New York State champion of the American Scholastic Achievement League's Scholastic Challenge Exam 2012, a 100-question multiple-choice online test that covers everything from history to science.
Barbakoff said his ranking as state champ was revealed during an announcement over his school's loudspeaker -- which he actually missed.
"I came in late, just as they were doing the announcements," said Barbakoff, 13, who called himself a "math and science person." "Everyone was congratulating me, and I wasn't sure what was going on."
He participated in the annual exam last spring, when he was in eighth grade. Students achieving a score over 60 are deemed "exceptional," league officials said.
The exam, which was timed to last an hour, was open to eighth-graders nationwide. Schools can enter groups of 30 students for $70, with a $2 payment for each additional pupil.
Barbakoff is on tennis and crew teams, and volunteers to help with bar mitzvah preparations at North Shore Synagogue in Syosset.
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
'His sacrifice made a difference': Gold Star mother honors son's memory Army Pfc. Raheen Tyson Heighter, 22, of Bay Shore, was the first serviceman from Long Island killed in the Iraq War.
