by Emma Willibey

STA’s Math Team qualified for State after winter competitions. Freshman Lizy Hagan and junior Madeline Meloy qualified individually, while Meloy, sophomore Sarah Cigas and juniors Eden Kreighbaum, Ellie Shorter and Anna Bauman earned team eligibility. To qualify for State on an exam, students must answer half of questions correctly.

“[Qualifying for State] makes us look wonderful,” Math Team moderator Kelsey Romine said.

Additionally, freshman Lizy Hagan and junior Ellie Shorter placed first in their grades among some 35 students at a Leavenworth, Kan. contest Jan. 11, Math Team moderator Megan Warr said. With Hagan, Shorter, Cigas and sophomores Kellie O’Toole and Hallie Ryan, STA placed second of three schools.

“I was actually really scared that I wouldn’t know any of [the material], and I did a lot better than expected,” Hagan said.

Since August, Math Team has engaged in five mail-in exams over lunch/activity as well as two Saturday competitions, Warr said.

“If we have three or four girls who want to go, we’ll probably go [to a Saturday contest],” Warr said.

According to Warr, scheduling clashes prevent Math Team’s 10 members from frequenting meets. Meloy said she and alumna Elaine Schmidt could have attended State last year, but the April competition conflicts with Prom, Junior Ring and an ACT.

“Just finding the time to be able to dedicate to [contests] is hard,” Warr said.

Romine said the exams demand similar strategy. For instance, one problem reads, “How many integers between 0 and 384 inclusive satisfy the congruence 210x-squared + 231x-cubed + 50x-squared+ 154x + 215 = 0 mod 385?” Consequently, Warr said State performance can enhance college applications, but should not induce stress.

“[Math Team’s gratification] is doing math because you really love it,” Warr said.