"I think it proves that girls are as good as boys in math," Sherman said in an interview Wednesday after winning the local math contest. "I like math."

Sherman won the individual portion of the annual Mathcounts competition, topping more than 50 seventh- and eighth-grade students from 13 schools in Missoula, Ravalli and Mineral counties. The contest, held at Ruby's Reserve Street Inn in Missoula, gives top middle-school math students an opportunity to compete head-to-head in individual and team competitions.

While Sherman was winning the individual contest, Missoula's Sussex School once again laid claim to the team title.

After an off year last year in which Sussex finished fourth, the private K-8 school won the team championship for the ninth time in the past 11 years. The Sussex squad, made up of eighth-graders Forrest Horton, Taylor Brugh, Cory Turner and Kelsyn Bevins, posted the highest combined score to beat out second-place St. Joseph School of Missoula.

Sussex and St. Joseph will advance to the state Mathcounts finals along with third-place Stevensville Middle School and fourth-place Target Range School. The state contest will take place March 10 in Bozeman.

Joining Sherman as individual award winners Wednesday in order of finish were Jesse Klein of St. Joseph; Horton of Sussex; Conor Jacobs of Missoula's Washington Middle School; Mike Lenander of Stevensville; and Brugh of Sussex. All of the top six finishers are eighth-graders with the exception of Jacobs, a seventh-grade student.

Sherman credited her fine performance this year to the experience she gained in last year's contest, in which she finished 10th.

"I understood some of the stuff better," she said. "It helped being in it last year. I thought I would do better, but I didn't think I was going to win."

As for advice to future "mathletes," Sherman said only, "Don't give up and keep trying. Work hard and you can make it."

Guy Sharp, the coordinator of the Missoula Chapter of Montana Mathcounts, said this year's field of competitors was an impressive group.

"I think it was a much better field than last year," Sharp said. "Last year there were lower scores and there seemed to be more of an element of frustration."

Students competing in the Mathcounts contest use their math skills to complete exams in subject areas such as algebra, geometry and statistics. The contest was founded in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers and CNA Insurance Companies. Nationally, more than 7,000 schools and 350,000 students participate in the competition.

The top finishers at the Montana state competition will form a team to compete at the national Mathcounts contest later this year in Washington, D.C.

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