Team Massachusetts placed third out of 56 teams at the National MATHCOUNTS Competition from May 13-15 in Orlando, Florida – adding to a proud history of Top 10 national-level finishes for MA. 

Each student “mathlete” also placed individually in the top 25% of the 224 best mathletes from across the U.S. who advanced to nationals after 90,000 students competed in their local and state contests.

The four students who represented Team Massachusetts are Nikhil Byrapuram (grade 8) from The Pike School in Andover; Christopher Cheng and Adam Ge (both grade 8); and Selena Ge (grade 7) from the Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington.  

The team was accompanied by Coach Josh Frost of Jonas Clarke Middle School in Lexington and MSPE Director John J. Hayden, PE, State MATHOUNTS Coordinator and Senior Transportation Engineer at Stantec Consulting Services, Inc.  

Following a long-delayed flight from Boston, the team arrived in Florida late Thursday night. After a brief rest, they were up and practicing on Friday. Saturday began with more drills and ended with a meeting between competition staff and the 224 students and 56 coaches, before an early lights-out. 

On Sunday, the written portion of the competition included 3 intense rounds:

Sprint Round: a 30-question test that students complete individually in 40 minutes with no calculators

Target Round: 4 pairs of questions, with 6 minutes to solve each pair, with calculators

Team Round: 4-person teams collaborate to solve 10 questions in 20 minutes

Following the first day of competition, all students enjoyed the opportunity to see Guardians of the Galaxy 3 in Disney Springs. Team Massachusetts also ended their busy day with a relaxing game of miniature golf.

On Monday it was announced that Team Massachusetts won third place, after first place Texas and second place Florida. All four Massachusetts students placed among the top 25% of contestants in the written competition. Nikhil Byrapuram placed 39th and Christopher Cheng placed 24th. Siblings Adam and Selena Ge placed among the top 12 finishers, so they advanced to compete in exciting head-to-head Countdown Rounds that determine individual champions.

In the first Countdown Round, Adam and Selena faced off, and Selena won. The custom at the end of each round is for competitors to shake hands and congratulate each other; however, Selena received a congratulatory hug from her brother.

Adam finished in a four-way tie for ninth place, and Selena advanced to the Quarter Final Round where she finished in a four-way tie for fifth place. Adam and Selena also represented Massachusetts last year at the National Competition.

View full release and learn more at mspe.com

Contact your local middle school and ask if they participate in the program. If they do, congratulate them and offer any assistance you are comfortable with. If they do not participate, urge them to learn about the program by visiting the MATHCOUNTS website, www.mathcounts.org or the MATHCOUNTS section of mspe.com, or by contacting the State Coordinator, John J. Hayden, P.E. at john.hayden2@stantec.com.

The MA Competition Schedule is published in late fall each year. At each of the 7 Chapter competitions in January and February, and the State Competition in March, opportunities to help range from proctoring to scoring the tests. No experience is necessary and training takes only minutes on the day of the event. Time commitments range from 3 to 5 hours on any competition day. There are also opportunities to serve as one of 7 Chapter Coordinators. Contact State Coordinator, John J. Hayden, P.E.

TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATIONS

Every corporate sponsorship and every individual contribution donated serves to directly support our student Mathletes™. The MATHCOUNTS Foundation, a National Organization, supplies only about 1/3 of our State program’s operating costs. The remainder comes from organizations, like the Massachusetts Society of Professional Engineers and other professional organizations, local companies and individuals.

ANY SIZE donation helps to fund & expand this vital program.

The MATHCOUNTS Foundation is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. View or download the Sponsor or Donor Registration Form. For additional information, please visit the MATHCOUNTS website, the MSPE website, or contact State Coordinator John J. Hayden, PE.  

Learn More about Opportunities to Support Massachusetts MATHCOUNTS