Regional Math Competition | Eastern North Carolina Now

News Release:

    Having a student qualify for state is starting to become a habit for the Washington High School Math Team. On Friday March 22nd, Washington High School took 26 students to compete in the regional math competition at Chowan University. Over 400 students from twenty schools in the region competed in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Comprehensive divisions with top students qualifying for the state competitions in April. Comprehensive is the top division where every math topic is available for questioning. In 2011, then senior Jeff Swanner qualified in comprehensive and then freshman Sarah Jennings qualified in Algebra 2. In 2012, then freshman Takumi Shinohara qualified in Geometry. Shinohara would later go on the place 1st in the State Geometry competition. For the third year in a row, a Washington High School student qualified for the state competitions, and for the second time in three years the qualifier was in comprehensive. Shinohara, now a sophomore, placed 5th at the regional meet and earned a return trip to the state competition.

    Shinohara was not the only success Washington saw on Friday. Patrick Miller, Charis Cutler, Logan Galloway, and Eric Crozier combined to earn third place team in the Geometry Division. This makes the fourth year in a row that Washington has brought back some award from the regional competition. In 2010, the Algebra 1 team also brought back third place. The regional meet includes school from J.H. Rose in Greenville, to First Flight and Manteo on the Outer Banks, to Cape Fear Academy in Wilmington. “The competition at the regional meets is tough, and not just because the students are not allowed calculators” explains Washington High Math teacher Toby McMahon who leads the math team. “Schools send the bests students they have. We will have over 400 students in Algebra 1 and over 300 in Geometry, but we can only take our top 5 in each group to regionals, and other schools do the same. What the regional competition does is take the students who make high A’s and see who the best is.”

    Shinohara will compete at the 35th State Comprehensive Finals on April 11th on the campus of North Carolina School of Science and Math. Less than 200 students in the state have earned to right to compete in the state competition. Students will be competition for scholarships, including a full-ride Duke University Scholarship to the winner, cash prizes, books, and Art of Problem Solving Scholarships. Another prize that most students will be anxiously competing for is a place on the North Carolina Math Team. Thirty students will be chosen to represent the state at the National League Meet which will be held at the University of Georgia. North Carolina has placed in the top 5 the last 5 years and took home top honors last year at the National Competition. Washington High School has never had a student on the national team. Shinohara has set many firsts for Washington High School: first state winner, first to qualify in back to back year, and first sophomore from Washington to qualify in comprehensive, maybe he can continue his trend and be the first Washington student to compete at the national meet. And if he does not qualify this year, he still has two more years to go.
Washington High Geometry Team shows their 3rd place award. Team members are Patrick Miller, Eric Crozier, Logan Galloway, and Charis Cutler.


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    Sarah Hodges
    Public Information Officer
    Beaufort County Schools
      252.946.6593 office
      252.402.5834 cell
      shodges@beaufort.k12.nc.us e-mailoto