Local schools excel in math competition
Glacier freshman Abby Fritz uses a calculator to solve a problem during the Montana Council of Mathematics Teachers Math Contest.
A student takes a test during the Montana Council of Mathematics Teachers Math Contest at Flathead Valley Community College on March 16. (Aaric Bryan photos/Daily Inter Lake)
More than 400 students from around the valley recently competed in the Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics Math Contest for middle and high school students at Flathead Valley Community College.
Teams took a combination of individual and team tests. Often, a few points made the difference between first and second place. There were several ties between teams for second place across grade levels.
The middle and high schools with the most top-scoring competitors were Kalispell Middle School — which won a tiebreaker against West Valley School — and Glacier High School.
Top individual scorers overall in the middle and high school divisions were Peter Konopka, a Kalispell Middle School eighth-grader, and Alden Drew, a Glacier junior. Students took three tests and Konopka had 75 percent of the answers correct and Drew, 76 percent. Both were awarded TI-89 calculators.
At the high-school level, two $200 scholarships were awarded to the top male and female. Scholarships went to Flathead’s Alex Naglich and Whitefish’s Mirielle Kruger based on their scores. Their scores will be considered at the state level for a chance at winning an additional $500 scholarship.
First-place finishers in each grade are as follows: Whitefish Middle School seventh-grader Nick Starring; a two-way tie between eighth-graders Taylor Weaver of Deer Park School, and Scott Bowden of Whitefish Middle School; Whitefish High School ninth-grader Andrew Brozek; Flathead 10th-grader Tanis Hadwin; Glacier 11th-grader Emmett Van Allen and Flathead 12th-grader Naglich.
The 11th- and 12th-grade team to capture first place was Flathead’s Noah Love, Isabelle Cuthbertson, Naglich, Tommy Diegel and Robert Miller. Second place was a two-way tie between Glacier team Emma Trunkle, Brenden Anderson, Jessica Green and Silas Schwarz and Whitefish team Kate Doorn, Melissa Pollard, Kruger and Hannah Madsen.
In ninth and eighth grades the Glacier team of Michael Schwarz, Danny Kernan, Lucas Ritzdorf, Levi Waugh and Drew Engellant placed first. It was a four-way tie for second place between a different Glacier team, Flathead and Whitefish Christian Academy. The Glacier team included: Evan Kohler, Kimberly Liles, Kyla Harris, Wyatt Fewlass and Brooklyn Lamers. On the Flathead team was Riley Kouns, Josh Anderson, Reed Miller, Tanis Hadwin and Dominic Battello. The Whitefish Christian Academy team was made up of Allison Miller, Alex Wojciechowski and Maria Frampton.
The Whitefish Middle School team of Abigail Bowden, Scott Bowden, Simon Roston and Chaz Gillette took first place for grades nine and 10. Second place was a three-way tie between Deer Park, Kalispell Middle School and two West Valley teams. The Deer Park team included Weaver, Kole Marx, Emerald Templin, Lakia Hill and Gracie Mee. Kalispell Middle School was composed of Michael Downs, Alexandra Houseworth, Eden Flake, Bailey Mainolfi and Hannah Pieri. The West Valley teams included: Cody Frost, Jacob Keller, Diego Mendoza, Caleb Morgan and Anton Pavliuk; and Emily Cleveland, Blake Marlow, Jaxson Olsen, Joseph Schlegel and Keifer Spohnhauer.
For more information about the competition, email Montana Council of Teachers of Mathematics Math Contest northwest regional director Peter Musick at musickp@sd5.k12.mt.us.
Reporter Hilary Matheson can be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.