72 middle school "Mathletes" recently took part in the annual Woodbridge N. Ferris MATHCOUNTS Competition at Ferris State University last month.

Five area schools participated in this year's competition: Big Rapids Middle School, coached by Melinda Strong; Mackinaw Trail Middle School in Cadillac, coached by Karen Johnson; St. Peter's Lutheran School, coached by Jeanna Watts; McBain Middle School, coached by Pat Maloney; and St. Mary's Catholic School, coached by new arrival Angela Denny. This year also featured a non-school "Mathlete," Walter Wehrman from Northeast Middle School in Midland, who was coached by his father, Andy Wehrman.

In the team round—which consists of a set of 10 problems completed in 20 minutes—Mackinaw Trail Middle School took first place, followed by St. Peter's in second and Big Rapids in third.

In the individual "Countdown" round, the top 12 Mathletes were seeded NCAA bracket-style and competed head-to-head based on their combined "Sprint" and "Target" round scores from earlier in the compeition. Walter Wehrman came out on top, with Andrew Hinkley from St. Mary's in second and Pandora Townsend in third. Wehrman was the top overall seed, followed by Townsend as the No. 2 seed. Orin Bregg from McBain was the No. 3 seed and Hinkley was the No. 6 seed, based on their Sprint and Target round scores.

Trophies were awarded to the first-, second- and third-place winners by Cargill Cares Committee representatives Courtney Snider and Lanaya Stewart. All students and coaches received a custom pink T-shirt with the theme "Semiquincentennial – in Numbers" on the back.

"It's so nice to see middle schoolers willing to spend more time on math, so nice to have teachers and parents willing to coach, and to have so many volunteers and Ferris State staff willing to support those who engage extra time in math," said event coordinator Chuck Drake.

The top team plus the top four other contestants will represent the area at the State MATHCOUNTS competition in Grand Rapids on Saturday, Mar. 14. Attending will be Cadillac's top team of Luca Caro, Ridhan Barot, Elijah Speelman and Nicholas Hogg. The individuals who will compete include Wehrman, Townsend, Bregg and Leah Dodde of McBain.

MATHCOUNTS is a nationwide mathematics enrichment program designed for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grade. It offers participants additional opportunities with teachers and coaches to enhance test-taking strategies and engage in after-school activities. Read more about the organization at www.mathcounts.org.

_{Photo courtesy of Jeff Pedelty. Release information courtesy of Chuck Drake.}