Northern Middle School from Calvert County won first place in the team competition of the MATHCOUNTS event. From left are Matt Heide, John Williams, Sydney Feldman, Amanda Spyropoulos, and coach Judy Haines. (Submitted photo)
HUGHESVILLE, Md. (March 1, 2011) — More than 140 students from 21 middle schools in Southern Maryland tested their computation skills at the 17th annual MATHCOUNTS competition, held at Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Waldorf on Saturday, February 5.
During the three-hour competition, the middle-school students tackled challenging mathematics problems in a series of rounds. MATHCOUNTS begins with the sprint round, a 30-question test that students complete individually. In the target round, students have four sets of math problems and are given six minutes to complete each set of two questions. The team round allows each four-member team to complete 10 questions in 20 minutes. The countdown round pits the top 12 scorers in a head to head challenge which offers the entertainment level of a sports event.
Spring Ridge Middle School from St. Mary's County won second place in the team competition of the MATHCOUNTS event. From left are coach Tamarah Dishman, Sharlene Chiu, Megan Yuen, Sarah Carty, Belinda Chiu, and coach Gina Clark. Belinda Chiu also placed first in the countdown round of the event. (Submitted photo)
In the team competition, Northern Middle School in Calvert County won first place; team members included Sydney Feldman, Matt Heide, Amanda Spyropoulos, and John Williams, coached by Judy Haines. Spring Ridge Middle School in St. Mary's County placed second; team members included Sarah Carty, Belinda Chiu, Sharlene Chiu, and Megan Yuen, coached by Gina Clark and Tamarah Dishman. St. John's School in St. Mary's County won third place; team members included Jared Daye, Elizabeth Feist, Stephen Henkel, and John Winslow, coached by Barney Feist.
In the target and sprint rounds, students competed to see who could score highest on individual tests. For these exams, Logan Cotner of Mattawoman Middle School in Charles County placed first and Amanda Spyropoulos of Northern Middle School in Calvert County placed second. The countdown rounds featured an elimination bracket format similar to a basketball tournament. In these rounds, Belinda Chiu of Spring Ridge Middle School placed first and Logan Cotner of Mattawoman Middle School placed second.
St. John's School in St. Mary's County won third place in the team competition of the MATHCOUNTS event. From left are John Winslow, Stephen Henkel, Jared Daye, and coach Barney Feist. Not shown is Elizabeth Feist. (Submitted photo)
The local MATHCOUNTS competition is sponsored by SMECO and the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary's County public schools, with the support of the National Society of Professional Engineers. 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 held in Washington, DC.
Source: SMECO