Esperanza Middle Wins First Place at MATHCOUNTS
Posted by SMECO
Pax Leader III
First place team: Esperanza Middle School, St. Mary’s County; Anna Staats, Jamie Scheetz, Jake Timmer, and Ian Madden with coach Philip Sassaman.
More than 150 students from 19 middle schools in Southern Maryland enjoyed a creative and exciting test of their mathematics skills at the 19th annual regional MATHCOUNTS competition, which was held at Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Waldorf on Saturday, Feb. 2.
MATHCOUNTS aims to boost student interest in mathematics by making the subject challenging and entertaining, so that students have a foundation for success in science, technology, and engineering. Middle school students across the country compete in more than 500 regional competitions each year, with winners advancing to state competitions and then to the national competition.
The three-hour MATHCOUNTS event in Waldorf featured challenging mathematics problems in a series of rounds. First is the sprint round, a 30-question test that students complete individually. The competitors go next to the target round, where they have four sets of math problems and six minutes to complete each set of two questions.
Second place team: Milton Somers Middle School, Charles County; Michael Gill, Ethan Walker, Justin Cortez, and Sarah Chen with coach Jen Craigmile.
In the team round, foursomes of students answer 10 questions in 20 minutes. The top 12 scorers finish the competition by facing each other in the countdown round, a single-elimination tournament with the fast-paced excitement of a sports event.
In the team competition, Esperanza Middle School in St. Mary’s County won first place; team members included Ian Madden, Jamie Scheetz, Anna Staats, and Jake Timmer, coached by Philip Sassaman. Milton Somers Middle School in Charles County placed second; team members included Sarah Chen, Justin Cortez, Michael Gill, and Ethan Walker, coached by Jen Craigmile. Margaret Brent Middle School in St. Mary’s County won third place; team members included Seth Barker, Doug Bell, Maryann Robinson, and Jackie Short, coached by Kevin Mackall.
Third place team: Margaret Brent Middle School, St. Mary’s County
Jackie Short, Maryann Robinson, Doug Bell, and Seth Barker with coach Kevin Mackall.
The individual competition was based on combined scores in the target and sprint rounds. For these exams, Logan Cotner of Mattawoman Middle School in Charles County placed first and Bernard Pettus of Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Charles County placed second. Finishing first in the countdown round was Logan Cotner of Mattawoman Middle School, followed by Jake Timmer of Esperanza Middle School.
Sponsors for the local MATHCOUNTS competition are SMECO and the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s county public schools, with the support of the National Society of Professional Engineers. Members of the Kiwanis of Charles County and the Westlake Key Club, along with SMECO employees and their families, volunteered their time to help score the tests. Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition will go on to compete in the statewide contest at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. State winners will progress to the national competition in Washington, D.C.
