Vol74-3 March 2024
Member newsletter for Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative
SMECO held 30th regional MATHCOUNTS competition
Each year, more than 500 regional competitions are held in middle schools across the country. In 2024, your cooperative held the 30th annual regional MATHCOUNTS Competition at Calvert High School.
The competition features rounds of mathematics problems to challenge students one-on-one and as teams over the course of the three-hour event.
Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition will compete in the statewide contest at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. The top four individual competitors from each state competition receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May.
Highlights of the 2024 Regional Competition in Southern Maryland
- Held February 3, 2024
- >150 middle schoolers competed
- 18 schools represented
INDIVIDUAL
The individual portion of the competition has a sprint and a target round. Winners are determined by the highest combined scores from the two rounds.
Sprint round: Students complete a 30-question test
Target round: Students have four sets of math problems and six minutes to complete each set of two questions.
FIRST: Paul Blachek, Piccowaxen Middle School
SECOND: Kathryn Torgesen, Chesapeake Public Charter School
COUNTDOWN ROUND
The top 12 scorers overall finish the competition by facing each other in the countdown round.
- A single-elimination bracket-based tournament
- Students respond verbally to questions within seconds
FIRST: Mason Hall, Leonardtown Middle School
SECOND: Zach Greer, Father Andrew White School
From left: Mason Hall and Zach Greer.
From left: coach Jennifer Rowland, co-coach Deborah Simmons, Blachek, Torgesen, and coach Taren Long.
TEAM
Teams of four answer 10 questions in 20 minutes.
FIRST PLACE: Northern Middle School
From left, Jacob Byun, Julio Castillo, coach Kathy Dempster, Zac Gingue, and Reed Noltemeyer
SECOND PLACE: Piccowaxen Middle School
From left, coach Jennifer Rowland, Paul Blachek, Kai Scott, Marcellus White, Drake Scott, and co-coach Deborah Simmons
THIRD PLACE: Leonardtown Middle School
From left, Mason Hall, Addison Owen, coach Christy Orthner, Elliot Orthner, and Kamilla Moore