Five students will compete in the regional Math Field Day competition in March after taking top spots in the county competition Friday, Dec. 5. 

“Being able to move on to regionals is exciting and rewarding for these students. It is a nice way to see that their hard work in preparing pays off,” adviser Jennifer Fleshman said. “I have enjoyed working with these students and have been excited to see our number of participants in both divisions continue to grow each year.”

 The senior high division, which includes grades 10-12, takes a written 15-question test that includes content from Algebra 1 through Pre-Calculus. Seniors Smit Babariya and Ember Galloway were top 10 finishers for the county. Seniors Lars Youngstrom, Lily Farinash and sophomore Samantha Mauzy qualified as alternates.

“It feels amazing qualifying for regional Math Field Day.” Babariya said.  “Outside of studying, the only commitment to qualify is taking an hour-long test during the school day. With regionals, I hope to qualify for states and eventually the national tournament.”

The second group consists of fourth through ninth grades. This group competes in four tests: two mental math tests, a written multiple choice test corresponding to their grade level, and a physical estimation test where students must guess the weight of an object.

“You have to know certain things about how it’s run and then when you know how it’s run it’s just basic math concepts and quick thinking,” freshman Gabe Floyd said.

In this group, first, second and third place were all PHS students. Freshman James D’Eramo came in first, Floyd placed second and freshman Calvin Lantz finished in third, qualifying all of them for the regional competition.

“I think we can win but we’re just going to have to keep practicing,” D’Eramo said. “We can’t slow down but I think if we keep doing what we have been, I think we’ll be able to win and make a good showing at regionals.”