Rice Lake, Northwestern top UWS ‘Math Meet’

Teams from Rice Lake and Northwestern high schools took top honors at the 37th annual Math Field Day held April 20 by the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Fourteen teams of students from 11 high schools took part in the Math Meet challenge to solve problems in geometry, calculus, algebra, trigonometry and statistics. Participating schools from Wisconsin included Ashland, Drummond, Grantsburg, Hayward, Ladysmith, Northwestern in Maple, Osceola, Rice Lake and Superior. Minnesota schools included Barnum and Cloquet.

The competition began with each team’s eight members collaborating to solve 10 problems within 20 minutes. Schools with 500 or more students compete in the large-school class; the other schools form the small-school class.

Taking home first-place honors in the small-school class was Northwestern with a score of 78 out of 100 possible points. Runner-up was Grantsburg Team 1 with a score of 71.

In the large-school class, first place went to Rice Lake I with a score of 93. Runner-up was Hayward with a score of 92.

Individual events required students to solve 15 problems within 15 minutes. The top winner of each event received a $100 U.S. Savings Bond.

Winners and top finishers in each individual event were:

Geometry: James Glodoski finished first in the category. Top finishers were Sandra Kempf of Barnum, Jacob Stai of Northwestern, Joshua Smith of Ashland, Garrett Mell of Hayward, Andrea Ostenso of Ladysmith, Julie Gray of Rice Lake, Ben Bandli of Rice Lake, and Natasha Meyer of Osceola.

Calculus: Spencer Koskie of Superior won the category. Top finishers were Clair Kurzynski and John Schewe, both of Rice Lake.

Algebra and Analytic Geometry: Victor Claremboux of Ashland won the category. Top finishers were Spencer Koskie of Superior, Ben Bandli of Rice Lake, and Rachel Dvorak of Rice Lake.

Trigonometry and Elementary Functions: David Yuan of Osecola won the category. Top finishers were Kimberly Fridsma of Drummond and Ben Bandli of Rice Lake.

Probability and Statistics: Stacey Seeger of Rice Lake won the category. Top finishers were Gavin Meyer of Grantsburg and Bryan Meyer of Ashland.

Quick Response: Dr. Chad Scott from UW-Superior’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science coordinated a series of toss-up and bonus questions. Students with correct answers were: Daniel Larson of Grantsburg, Ben Bandli of Rice Lake, Victor Claremboux of Ashland, Jacob Stai of Northwestern, Spencer Koskie of Superior, James Glodoski of Hayward, Nick Solum of Rice Lake, and Connor Myers of Grantsburg.

UW-Superior’s Department of Mathematics and Computer Science hosts the Math Meet each year to challenge and encourage the region’s top math students. Participants also had an opportunity to learn about the university’s mathematics and computer science academic programs that prepare students for careers in business, education and other fields along with advanced study.

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