New Hanover County Middle School Students: Outshine at Regional MATHCOUNTS Competition

Middle school students in New Hanover County Schools are thinking outside the box when it comes to mathematics. At the recent regional MATHCOUNTS competition that was held on Saturday, February 19, 2011, on the North Campus of Cape Fear Community College, NHCS students performed very well as they earned several awards. NHCS secured first and second places in the team competition, and eight students finished among the top ten in individual competitions. The regional MATHCOUNTS winners are as follows:

Team Winners

1st Place: Myrtle Grove Middle School

Team Members: Ryan Caudill, Austin Redenbaugh, John Suggs, Jasmine Wang

Coach: Aimee Bunker

2nd Place: Roland-Grise Middle School

Team Members: Luke Guo, Ben Lu, Gideon Moore, Torrance Yang

Coach: Christy Kornegay

Individual Winners

1st Place: Deanyone Su, 7th grade, Noble Middle School
2nd Place: Ben Fawcett, 7th grade, Noble Middle School
3rd Place: Luke Guo, 8th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School
4th Place: Torrance Yang, 8th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School
6th Place: Kristin Isbell, 8th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School
8th Place: Joseph Kang, 8th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School
9th Place: Gideon Moore, 8th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School
10th Place: Ben Lu, 7th grade, Roland-Grise Middle School

The teams from Roland-Grise and Myrtle Grove, as well as Deanyone Su and Ben Fawcett from Noble, will advance to compete in the state-level competition on March 18, 2011, in Durham.

Each year, middle schools offer an opportunity for students to participant in MATHCOUNTS. The program builds math skills, promotes logical thinking and sharpens students’ analytical abilities. The mission of MATHCOUTS is to increase enthusiasm for and enhance achievement in middle school mathematics throughout the United States. MATHCOUNTS is providing today’s students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers in the 21st Century. MATHCOUNTS is sponsored in North Carolina by Duke Power, Progress Energy, PSNC Energy, BellSouth, North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Land Surveyors, NC State University, Duke TIP Program, and the North Carolina School of Science and Math.