Vernon's young scientists 1st place in Merck event

Vernon — A group of 25 Vernon High School science students participated in the Merck Science Day, an annual competition sponsored by the Merck Institute for Science Education and the New Jersey Science Teachers Association. This year’s event was held May 19. The program pits individuals and teams of high schoolers in a creative contest in the areas of biology, chemistry, physics, integrated science and advanced integrated science. The questions are scenario based and require students to integrate knowledge to solve problems. High Point, Kittatinny, Lenape Valley, Newton, Pope John XXIII and Wallkill Valley were all participants, but it was Vernon whose combined team score earned them first rank for the second consecutive year. The Vernon teams in biology and integrated science each finished first, while the Vernon teams in chemistry and physics each finished second. First-place scores in Sussex County were earned by Sylvia Rusnak in biology, Mark Benning in physics and Taylor Purdue in integrated science. Other individuals from Vernon who finished among the top five in Sussex County were: Michael Mingo in biology, Michelle Storms in chemistry, Zachary Maher and Tyler Vitone in physics, Seth Moore in integrated science and Sean Flynn in advanced integrated science.