MATHCOUNTS Winners Announced

 More than 100 students from Southern Maryland middle schools tested their computation skills at the fourteenth annual MATHCOUNTS competition held at Mechanicsville Elementary School on Saturday, February 2. During the three-hour competition, the students tackled challenging mathematics problems in a series of exciting rounds.

 For the team competition, Milton Somers Middle School in Charles County came in first: team members included Ian Farris, Chris Hartline, Bobby Keim, and Alex Smith, coached by Heather Johnson and Jen Craigmile. Esperanza Middle School in St. Mary’s County placed second: team members included Ian Anderson, Joseph Vandegrift, Jackie Weber, and Noah Wichrowski, coached by Craig Modrzejewski.

 Leonardtown Middle School in St. Mary’s County came in third: team members included Curtis Earl, Joshua Hall, Erin Rothback, and Sangeeta Sarkar, coached by Richard Condle.

 In the countdown rounds, Ian Farris of Milton Somers Middle School placed first and Joshua Hall of Leonardtown Middle School placed second.

 In the target and sprint rounds, students competed to see who could score highest on their individual test.

 For these exams, Alex Smith of Milton Somers Middle School placed first and Ian Farris of Milton Somers Middle School placed second.

 The local MATHCOUNTS competition is sponsored by Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative and the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s County school systems, with the support of the Society of Professional Engineers. Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition will go on to compete in the statewide contest. State winners will progress to the national competition in Denver, Colorado.

First Place Team, Milton Somers Middle School. Left to right: Ian Farris, who also placed first in the countdown round and second in the target and sprint rounds, Coach Heather Johnson, Bobby Keim, Assistant Coach Jen Craigmile, Alex Smith, who also placed first in the target and sprint rounds, and Chris Hartline.

Second Place Team, Esperanza Middle School. Left to right: Noah Wichrowski, Joseph Vandegrift, Jackie Weber, Coach Craig Modrzejewski, and Ian Anderson.

Third Place Team, Leonardtown Middle School. Left to right, Erin Rothback, Curtis Earl, Coach Richard Condle, Joshua Hall, who also placed second in the countdown round, and Sangeeta Sarkar.