The Math Team has had many accomplishments, and when someone looks back on all the hard work the team has done and how close the team is now, all that work helps lead them up to state.

“This season, we had a relatively small team compared to past years; it has been difficult getting new members to join because most of the students who do well in math are already involved in numerous other school activities, [but] everybody has something to contribute to the team. AJ Garcia, Jack Critzer, and I would teach short lessons at meetings to prepare the team for problems that show up often,” said senior and captain Ben Tompoles.

The team also has numerous meets that challenge every member to a different level with various problems ranging in difficulty.

“The difficulty of the math problems at the different meets does not vary much except for at State, which will have more difficult problems.  The hardest part of the meets are usually the two person competition, in which two people work together on multiple two part problems.  This competition is the most difficult because you only have three minutes for each problem. You only have one chance to answer, and the score is based on speed,” said sophomore Dante Kotamer.

The Math Team also gives students opportunities to meet new people who find an interest in the same activity and a place to make new accomplishments as a team and as an individual.

“I joined freshman year because I wanted to strengthen my abilities in math, because it is a subject I am deeply interested in,” said sophomore Nick Schneider.

Being on the Math Team has helped students discover new things and has also assisted them in becoming aware of a hobby that will be beneficial to them in the future.

“I enjoy the opportunity to learn new things that I didn’t learn in math class and try more difficult math problems. I also enjoy the opportunity to participate in an after school activity with some of my friends without having to make a large time commitment,” Kotamer said.

Preparing for any competition, Regionals as well as State, is a difficult task, but at the end of the day, the team is proud of what the team has become and where they were for this year’s season.

“We had a lot of fun this season going to meets, our teams scored well on tests, and we all learned more about math. For our meets and for State I have been preparing by studying and doing problems that have appeared in previous competitions, and the most difficult meet was Regionals. The problems were challenging because it is the qualifying competition for State,” Tompoles said.