School Notebook: Westbury, Huntington are mock trial champs

Teams from W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury and Huntington High School have taken this year’s mock trial titles for Nassau and Suffolk counties, respectively.

W. Tresper Clarke defeated a team from The Wheatley High School in Old Westbury in the final round of their county’s tournament at the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, while Huntington defeated a team from Northport High School in the final round of their county’s tournament at the Suffolk County Bar Association in Hauppauge. Huntington also won last year’s Suffolk crown.

The two first-place teams will now represent their respective counties in the state finals in Albany on May 21-23.

“The dedication of these students putting in practice time during free periods in school, after school on weekdays, and long days and nights on weekends, truly paid off dividends,” said Bryan Outsen, who co-advises Huntington’s team with Suzi Biagi and legal adviser Xavier Palacios. “With only one senior moving on next year and a team composed mostly of sophomores this year, the future of this program will be extremely bright for years to come.”

This year’s fictional case involved a construction worker who was injured while working at a house when a metal ladder on which he was standing fell onto a live electrical line, causing severe burns on both his hands and forearms. Teams acted as the defense or prosecution to demonstrate knowledge of law and courtroom procedures with judging handled by local attorneys and judges.

The Nassau and Suffolk county bar associations coordinated the tournaments for the two counties.

NASSAU COUNTY

High school Zone Awards

More than 100 high school seniors recently received Nassau Zone Awards from the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Each high school names one female and male recipient based on academics, leadership and physical performance.

Winners and their high schools were: Taylor Darcy and Jayson Rivera, Baldwin; Adriana Lisa and Aaron Meniel, Bethpage; Kinga Brulinska and Jason Lustig, Sanford H. Calhoun; Caylee DeMeo and Matthew Metzger, H. Frank Carey; Leila Naraine and Thomas Venezia, Carle Place; Monica Dell’Olio and James De Simone, W. Tresper Clarke; Ava Abatemarco and Anthony Giouvalakis, Cold Spring Harbor; Erin Alvarez and Alessandro Giacomarra, Division Avenue; Kaitlyn Podmore and Daniel Lindow, East Meadow; Katie LaBarbera and Anthony Sanzo, East Rockaway; Anaise Novembre and Darius Dorsey-Rhule, Elmont; Brooke Stapleton and Carlos Marquez, Farmingdale; Deirdre O’Neill and Zachary Velez, Floral Park; Katherine Crespo and Jeffrey Hernandez, Freeport; Mackenzie Wehrum and James Andreuzzi, Garden City; Milagros Guevara-Mendez and Alexander Piascik, Glen Cove; Danielle Kobrick and Kevin Khanyan, Great Neck North; Diana Flores and Luke Boyar, Great Neck South; Litzy Molina Maldonado and Arian Taj, Hempstead; Anjali Cherian and Jason Egre, Herricks; Charlotte Moscovici and Matteo Preziosi, Hewlett; Madilynn Winters and Ryan McQuade, Hicksville; Ava D’Antuono and Nicholas Saragossi, Island Trees; Elizabeth Lam and Joshua Ochalek, Jericho; Samantha Levine and Benjamin Greco, John F. Kennedy; Cynthia Saravia-Reyes and Jackson Mondesir, Lawrence; Olivia Del Tatto and Jack Baker, Locust Valley; Rebecca Konop and Jeffrey Conway, Long Beach; Kealyn O’Brien and James O’Hara, Lynbrook; Alexa Roccotagliata and Rocco Hogan, MacArthur; Jamila Smith and Matthew Merkel, Malverne; Alexandra Schneider and Ryan Tintle, Manhasset; Christina Fradella and Christian Kotten, Massapequa; Samantha Nadler and Dominick Novello, Wellington C. Mepham; Maya Meola and Luke Santaniello, Mineola; Tina Torre and Kevin Reilly, New Hyde Park; Laini Silverstein and Gregory Saridakis, North Shore; Gianna Horen and Andrew Cagno, Oceanside; Kerry Harrington and Corrine Kassatly, Our Lady of Mercy Academy; Hazel Maldonado, Oyster Bay; Samantha Pazos and Caden Morra, Plainedge; Solenna Shirodkar and Alex Briganti, Plainview-Old Bethpage; Andrea Cali Paz and Matias Escapa Ballardo, Roosevelt; Lindsay Cohen and Spencer Allen, Roslyn; Ally Carillo and Michael Capobianco, Paul D. Schreiber; Marinna Dupkin and William Cascio, Seaford; Jasmine Pink and Brian Rivera, Sewanhaka; Sofia DiMarco and Thomas Hubschman, South Side; Meg Morrisroe and James Limongelli, St. Dominic; Eleni Kaouris and Angelo Fasano, Syosset; Dennise Cespedes and Erick Santos Ruiz, Uniondale; Sienna Dessources and Jason Rivera, Valley Stream Central; Isabella Somma and Josh Hunt, Valley Stream North; Jade Hornick and Julien Woodley, Valley Stream South; Joanna Valvo and Timothy Hennig, Wantagh; Alisha Paracha and Anthony Blanco, West Hempstead; and Tina Lountzis and Evan Sheinman, Wheatley.

SUFFOLK COUNTY

High school Zone Awards

More than 100 high school seniors recently received Suffolk Zone Awards from the New York State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. Each high school names one female and male recipient based on academics, leadership and physical performance.

Winners and their high schools were: Adriana Velasquez-Bautista and Nicholas Brown, Amityville; Paige Seegers and Eric Hoffman, Babylon; Maya Ammar and Christian DuPont, Bay Shore; Felicia Giglio and Jeffrey Aiello, Bayport-Blue Point; Sky Dodge and Charles Maragioglio, Bellport; Leslie Samuel and Dylan Fitzgerald, Bridgehampton; Emma Morris and Benjamin Dench, Center Moriches; Lauren Hoppe and William Thu, Centereach; Isabella Lanza and Michael McClain, Commack; Alyssa Deacy and Hayden Morris-Gray, Comsewogue; Kayla Unterweiser and Justin Wilkinson, Connetquot; Arleni Alvarez Almonte and Jaden Gomez, Copiague; Arianna Jones and Joseph Sciurca Jr., Deer Park; Caroline DiSunno and James Amaden, East Hampton; Olivia Simonetti and Nick Rizzo, East Islip; Rylie Hack and Vincent Balzano, Eastport-South Manor; Grace Motta and Mario Bento, Elwood; Hannah Santacroce and Justus Horton, Greenport; Lauren Schwarz and Mason Kappel, Half Hollow Hills East; Christine Latortue and Ian Mirowitz, Half Hollow Hills West; Brianna Quiros and Liam Sutton, Hampton Bays; Athena Braverman and Matthew Lusby, Harborfields; Gianna Forte and Anthony Annunziata, Huntington; Callie Rais and James Swindells, Islip; Kiara Bass and Alex Ferrazzi, Kings Park; Mia Favara and Zach Gries, Lindenhurst; Gianna Hanner and Louis Kaleb, Longwood; Kathryn Doherty and Robert Cunningham, Miller Place; Amanda Audia and Thomas Frycek, Mount Sinai; Gwenn Schechner and Zarif Rezwan, Newfield; Djoonicka Buissereth and James Miller, North Babylon; Jayla DiPaulo and Ty D’Amico, Northport; Mackenzie Trpicovsky and Elliot Richards, Patchogue-Medford; Tahnie Sullivan and Griffin Greene, Pierson; Charlotte Dow and Andrew Garcia Cerna, Riverhead; Chloe Graham and Joseph Cecere, Rocky Point; Isabella Dembinski and Kyle Smith, Sachem East; Morgan Rietmann and J.T. Mankowich, Sachem North; Anna Meserve and Thomas Golio, Sayville; Andrea Napoles and John Febles Torres, Shelter Island; Annie Sheehan and Jake Albert, Shoreham-Wading River; Abigail Loiacono and Andrew Rea, Smithtown Christian School; Gabriella Zarcone and John Holler, Smithtown East; Laura Luikart and Kenny Leverich, Smithtown West; Danna Game and Thayer Schwartz, Southampton; Jenna Jacobs and Brendan Capodanno, Earl L. Vandermeulen; Lorianna Mattutat and Jonathan Matthews, Walt Whitman; Elyse Munoz and Andrew Powell, Ward Melville; Lacey Downey and Jack Capriola, West Babylon; Skylar Zimmerly and Jack Cantwell, West Islip; Laurette Schaumloffel and Noah Hebberd, Westhampton Beach; Payton LaVallee and Dylan Harris, William Floyd; and Mikalah Knight and Carlos Diaz, Wyandanch.

ISLANDWIDE

BNL’s Maglev Competition

Six Long Island students have been named first-place winners in various categories of Brookhaven National Laboratory’s 2023 Maglev Competition, which challenged them to design vehicles that float over a fixed track using magnetic levitation. This year’s competition attracted 121 students from seven middle schools across Long Island.

First-place winners, their school and categories were: Ruth Palencia, Bay Shore Middle School, self-propelled (other); Madison Wolferd, Bay Shore Middle School, electrified track; Allison Byrne, Great Hollow Middle School in Smithtown, wind power; Ryan Bartens, Albert G. Prodell Middle School in Shoreham, gravity; Mia Derose, Alfred G. Berner Middle School in Massapequa, futuristic; and Karson Wong, Great Neck South Middle School, 3D printed.

“This competition shows students the challenge and fun in learning as you go while they experiment with and adjust their designs to build a fast maglev vehicle,“ said Brookhaven‘s Office of Educational Programs Manager Kenneth White. 

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.