SMECO holds 30th annual MATHCOUNTS

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative held its 30th annual Southern Maryland MATHCOUNTS competition on Feb. 3 at Calvert High School.

This year’s competition featured more than 150 middle school students from 18 schools.

MATHCOUNTS features rounds of math problems to challenge students one-on-one and as teams over the course of the three-hour event. First up is the sprint round, a 30-question test that students complete individually. The competitors then compete in the target round where they must solve four sets of problems and have six minutes to complete each set of two questions.

In the individual competition, which is based on combined scores in the sprint and target rounds, Paul Blachek from Piccowaxen Middle School finished first while Kathryn Torgesen of the Chesapeake Public Charter School was the runner-up.

The top 12 scorers finished the competition head-to-head in the countdown round, a single-elimination bracket-based tournament in which students must respond verbally in a matter of seconds.

Mason Hall from Leonardtown Middle School took first place while Zach Greer of Father Andrew White School was second.

In the team round, foursomes of students answer 10 questions in 20 minutes and the Northern Middle team of Jacob Byun, Julio Castillo, Zac Gingue and Reed Noltemeyer emerged victorious. The team was coached by Kathy Dempster.

Second place went to the Piccowaxen Middle School squad of Blachek, Kai Scott, Marcellus White and Drake Scott, who were coached by Jennifer Rowland and Deborah Simmons. Leonardtown Middle School earned third place and was comprised of Hall, Addison Owen, Elliot Orthner, and Kamilla Moore, and coached by Christy Orthner and Jessica Toth.

Margaret Brent Middle School took fourth place while Father Andrew White School finished fifth.

Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition will go on to compete in the statewide contest at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The top four individual competitors from each state competition receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C. in May.

A news release said MATHCOUNTS aims to boost student interest in mathematics by making the subject challenging and entertaining. Each year, more than 500 regional competitions are held in middle schools across the country, with winners advancing to state competitions and then to the national competition.

The release added MATHCOUNTS alumni are more likely to continue with science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with three out of every four alumni studying a STEM field in college, which is nearly three times the national average. MATHCOUNTS also builds the critical thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for success: 95% of teachers believe that MATHCOUNTS problems are effective at improving their students’ problem-solving and critical thinking skills.

And the winners are

The Northern Middle School team of Jacob Byun, Julio Castillo, Coach Kathy Dempster, Zac Gingue and Reed Noltemeyer took first place.

Second place went to the Piccowaxen Middle School team of Coach Jennifer Rowland, Paul Blachek, Kai Scott, Marcellus White, Drake Scott, and Coach Deborah Simmons.

Third place was awarded to the team from Leonardtown Middle School, which was comprised of Mason Hall, Addison Owen, Coach Christy Orthner, Elliot Orthner and Kamilla Moore.

The Margaret Brent Middle School team of Raymond Mallett, Jason Moore, Coach Richard Guthrie, Meggie Winship, and Scarlett de Leon placed fourth.

Fifth place went to the Father Andrew White School squad of Zach Greer, Helen Geary, Coach Carrianne Downey, Anna Tritschler and Finley Downey.

Paul Blachek from Piccowaxen Middle School placed first in the individual round while Kathryn Torgesen of Chesapeake Public Charter School earned second.

And, Mason Hall of Leonardtown Middle School placed first in the countdown round while second place went to Zach Greer of Father Andrew White School.