Thriving when it Counts
Local mathletes head to State tourney
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RONAN – After taking a hiatus from competition two years ago, Ronan Middle School students are back and stronger than ever. The team recently secured a bid to the MathCounts State Tournament at Montana State University in Bozeman March 8. The team is led by eight-graders Tanner Olson, Ryan Dresen and Ethan Blevins, along with seventh-grader Lane Garcia. Other team members include: Ally Buhr, Kaitlyn Sassaman, Austin Benson, Jacob Broughton, Brittany Boles and Scott Bingham-Sanders.
The team advanced to State after finishing in second place overall at the Chapter meet in Kalispell earlier this month.
Of the 76 mathletes, Olson took third individually, a feat he never dreamed would happen.
“I didn’t expect it,” Olson said. “I did my best; I’m glad I took third.”
The nationwide competition consists of two individual tests, followed by another test that’s taken as a team. Students then enter a countdown round, similar to the popular television quiz show “Jeopardy.” Once all the rounds are completed, teams are scored based on students’ individual averages added to the team score for an overall tally.
Benefits for those who participate in MathCounts include broadening their math skills, as many of the questions given come from high school and college levels.
“I’ve gotten to see a larger range of math,” Blevins noted. “It helps for preparing for high school and college. Hopefully I’ll be an engineer.”
The team is led by RMS instructors Shawn Harris and first-year math teacher Bill Becker, whom Harris says has played a key role in the team’s success.
“We have a good group,” Harris said. “Becker has a background in statistics and probability; he brings a lot to the team. I expected (the students) to be in the top three; they have really good sense for math.”
Since the competition began in October, the students have spent lunch periods on Tuesday and Thursday sharpening their skills by tackling new and difficult problems. Since advancing to State, the students have also been putting in extra hours after school on Thursdays and Fridays to ensure they’re prepared for the stiff competition.
“I think they’ll do well at State,” Harris said. “We have never won State. That’s our goal.”
If Ronan wins State, the team will advance to the National Tournament, which will be held May 11 in Orlando, Fla.
