Alexandria teams perform well at Tri-College Mathematics Contest

Forty-six 7th-12th grade students from Discovery Middle School and Jefferson High School in Alexandria traveled to Concordia College on February 27 to participate in the Tri-College Mathematics Contest.

The contest is divided into three divisions: middle school (grades 6-8), beginning high school (grades 9-10) and senior high school (grades 11-12). In each division, teams of eight students compete to achieve the highest individual and team scores. Alexandria came home with awards in each division.

In the middle school division, out of approximately 23 teams, Alexandria took 2nd place with a score of 252. The team actually tied with Moorhead, but Moorhead received 1st place via a tiebreaker.

Individually 181 students participated. Alexandria had three students in the top 10: Matthew Bittmann took 1st place, Jake Wheeler came in 2nd and Chad Blank also scored in the top 10.

In the beginning high school division, 21 teams competed. Alexandria team members Heidi Moe, Ally Timm, Ben Tollefson, Marissa Wheeler, Carl Branch, Eric Branch, Halley Score and Cody Weisel took 1st place with a score of 261.

The team of Carolyn Lussenhop, Will Reed, Megan Schouweiler, Haley Seward, Tyler Kay, Marisa Larson, Mitch Maday and Kyle Pietrowski took 4th place with a score of 222.

Individually 184 students competed. Alexandria had two students in the top 10. Ben Tollefson took 1st place and Marissa Wheeler took 8th place.

In the senior high division 20 teams and 220 individuals competed. The Alexandria team was one point away from scoring in the top four and receiving some hardware. Individually, Alexandria had one student in the top 10: Taylor Score took 8th place.

Team scores for this event are calculated by combining the scores of 8 pre-selected individuals on individual exams and points earned during a team exam.

During the individual test, students have 45 minutes to complete 36 to 40 rigorous problems without a calculator. During the team test, the eight members have 20 minutes to complete approximately 10 questions with the use of a calculator.

Tags: local news, life, math