MathCounts Team Wins Regionals

Led by coach Pam Richmann, four Hawken \"mathletes\" competed as a team at the 2008 regional MATHCOUNTS tournament on Saturday, February 16 at Cleveland State University. Sixth graders Shang-Shang Chen, Aric Floyd, and Elliot Glazer and seventh grader, Russell Cohen problem-solved their way to a first place ranking surpassing teams from 16 greater Cleveland area schools. Three of these students earned recognition among the top ten individual competitors, as well: Elliot placed fourth, Russell was seventh, and Shang-Shang achieved tenth place. The event consisted of three written rounds-a 30-problem Sprint Round, a 24-minute Target Round, and a 10-question Team Round. The complexity levels of the problems ranged from pre-algebra through high school and included a variety of algebra and geometry applications. Our team win entitles Hawken to advance to the state competition, which will be held on Saturday, March 8 at Columbus State Community College in Columbus, Ohio. In addition, the team competed in a separate oral Countdown Round, where speed, accuracy, and mental agility proved vital to quickly \"buzzing in\" with solutions. Our team, with an uncanny ability to think under time pressure before an audience of peers, parents, and teachers, placed an amazing second in this event. Our heartiest congratulations to Shang-Shang, Russell, Aric, and Elliot for their stellar performance in this demanding competitive event! We are very proud of our students, not only for achieving excellence in Hawken`s rigorous mathematics program, but also for their inspiring motivation, enthusiasm, and diligence in taking their talents to a competitive level beyond the school.