Spring Ridge takes first at math competition

Friday, March 12, 2010

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photos Spring Ridge Middle School students, from left, Zachary Smith; Belinda Chiu; Matthew Sebacher, who also won second place in the target/sprint rounds; Sharlene Chiu; and coaches Gina Clark and Bridget Dunbar celebrate their first-place win as a team at this year's MATHCOUNTS competition on Feb. 20. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Members of Margaret Brent Middle School's team, which placed third in the event, from left, Mateo Arredondo, Erik Bazyk, Rachel Villa, Laura Moats and coach Kevin Mackall gather after receiving trophies.

Approximately 115 students from 20 middle schools in Southern Maryland tested their computation skills at the 16th annual MATHCOUNTS competition, held at Theodore G. Davis Middle School in Waldorf on Feb. 20.

MATHCOUNTS is designed to offer the entertainment level of a sports event and to ignite student interest in the world of numbers. During the three-hour competition, the middle-school students tackled challenging mathematics problems in a series of rounds.

In the team competition, Spring Ridge Middle School from St. Mary's County won first place. Team members included Belinda Chiu, Sharlene Chiu, Matthew Sebacher and Zachary Smith. The team was coached by Gina Clark and Bridget Dunbar.

Northern Middle School from Calvert County placed second.

Margaret Brent Middle School from St. Mary's County won third place. Team members included Mateo Arredondo, Erik Bazyk, Laura Moats and Rachel Villa. The team was coached by Kevin Mackall.

In the target and sprint rounds, students competed to see who could score highest on individual tests. For these exams, Sydney Feldman of Northern Middle School placed first and Matthew Sebacher of Spring Ridge Middle School placed second.

The countdown rounds featured an elimination bracket format similar to a basketball tournament. In these rounds, Andrew Lee of Leonardtown Middle School placed first and Feldman placed second.

The local MATHCOUNTS competition is sponsored by SMECO and the Calvert, Charles and St. Mary's county school systems, with the support of the National Society of Professional Engineers.

Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition go on to compete in the statewide contest at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. State winners progress to the national competition held at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla.