Mathletes Win Regional MathCounts Competition

Four Manhattan Beach Middle School students took first place in the team category, beating out 18 teams in the Westside/South Bay Los Angeles Regional MathCounts competition held at Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach on Saturday, Feb. 4. They will join schoolmate Ethan Lu, the top individual scorer, at the state competition on March 17 at the University of California, Irvine. 

Ten MBMS students participated in the MathCounts event: Shubhayu Bhattacharyay, Owen Konsmo, Andrew Liu, Ethan Lu, Michelle Lu, Peter Lu, Meera Nagpal, Pooja Nagpal, Jonathan Sklar, and Tanner Yamada.

Shubhayu, Owen, Andrew and Tanner captured first place as a team and Peter Lu placed third of all individual competitors.

Six MBMS students placed in the top 20 out of 162 total competitors in the regional competition.

MBMS delivered its strongest showing ever in a regional MathCounts event, according to a Manhattan Beach Unified School District press release. 

MathCounts, whose mission is to inspire excellence, confidence and curiosity in U.S. middle school students through fun and challenging math programs, is a national middle school math competition program sponsored by Northrop Grumman and Raytheon.

Competition typically consists of three rounds: Sprint, Target, and Team.

The Sprint Round is comprised of 30 problems that must be completed in 40 minutes.

The Target Round presents competitors with eight problems in four pairs. Students are given six minutes to solve each pair of multi-step problems that require strong mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills.

The Team Round asks team members to collaboratively solve ten problems in 20 minutes. 

Prior to participating in regional chapter competitions, students compete at the school level to earn one of ten team spots. Following the regional event, finalists progress to the state competition. The best mathematicians at the state level will advance to the national competition slated for Orlando, FL, later this year.

The MBMS MathCounts mathletes are supported by coaches Justin Warfield and Mitch Sklar, M.D., "who fostered a strong team spirit and made math enjoyable while providing excellent preparation and mentorship," according to Carolyn Seaton, executive direcotr, educational services, MBUSD. MBMS is the middle school in MBUSD.