Sussex School finished first among 13 western Montana teams in the Mathcounts competition Wednesday in Missoula. It was the school's 10th title in the past 12 years.
Faith Morrison, a Sussex student, finished first in the individual competition, a category in which her three teammates all placed among the top six. It is the first time all four members of the Sussex team placed in the top 10.
The annual Mathcounts contest is organized by the Missoula Chapter of the Montana Society of Engineers. The top four teams and top six individuals advance to the state competition in Bozeman on March 20. Top finishers in state competitions advance to the national contest later this year in Washington, DC.
The students answered written questions on probability, statistics, linear algebra and polynomials. The standard tests are taken by all participants throughout the state.
Morrison credited her win to the experience she gained as a Mathcounts alternate last year.
"You definitely learn about these types of problems," she said. "I thought I'd get in the top 10 but I wasn't sure. Last year, (if they had scored alternates) I would have been (somewhere) from fifth to eighth place."
While it was Sussex's team that fared so well, its individual contestants also were charged up for the event.
"Math is big at Sussex," said eighth-grader Britnay Wilson. With eight kids in a grade, "you know who will be on the team."
Students on other teams felt some of that same excitement before the competition began.
"I don't think we'll do all that bad," predicted Florence-Carlton eighth-grader Ashley Hilferty. "Those three (teammates Christina Phillips, David Shurtleff and Paul Dallapiazza) are smart."
Or as Dallapiazza said, "It all depends. If we feel optimistic and think we'll win, we'll do well. We're confident."
Dallapiazza was - and he did, placing fifth in individual competition.
Students got ready for the competition by going over old tests and studying the problems they had trouble with. Preparing for the test, said Stevensville's Melissa Lind, was "just like studying. Some of it's confusing."
But after the test, teammate Abe McCormick said it was "all right. It was too much math in a day. We're done, right?"
Reporter Donna Syvertson can be reached at 523-5361 or at dsyvertson@missoulian.com.
The winners
The top four teams were:
1. Sussex
2. Hamilton Junior High
3. Washington Middle School
4. Florence-Carlton.
Top 10 individuals were:
1. Faith Morrison, Sussex
2. Matt Cieplax, Hamilton
3. Will Harrison, Sussex
4. Morgan Eichwald, Sussex
5. Paul Dallapiazza, Florence
6. Cascade Tuholske, Sussex
7. Corbin Johnson, Washington
8. Conor Jacobs, Washington
9. Patrick Seymour, Victor
10. Forrest O'Connor, St. Joseph's.
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