Clark Lane Mathletes Advance to States

A new team of MathCounts competitors from Clark Lane Middle School (CLMS) flexed their math problem solving muscles at the Eastern Connecticut Chapter Competition.  The event was held at the United States Coast Guard Academy on February 2.  CLMS competed among 26 middle schools in the Eastern Chapter and finished sixth, among the top middle schools that will advance to the Connecticut state competition. 

The CLMS MathCounts team that competed at the Eastern regional competition consisted of veteran and new members.  Nathaniel Rowe, an eighth grader, served as team captain and finished seventeenth overall among over 200 students who competed.  He represented CLMS as a member of the Mathcounts team for the past three years, qualifying for states each time.  Sophie Wang, a seventh grader, shined during the competition, finishing fifth overall.  During the exciting Countdown round, when the top eight competitors challenged each other in an oral math competition, Sophie defeated opponents in two single elimination rounds, earning the second place trophy.  New MathCounts competitors Angela Su, an eighth grader, and Destiny Hsieh, a seventh grader, also made strong contributions to the CLMS MathCounts team's overall performance. 

"I'm very proud of these kids!" said CLMS MathCounts team coach Dan Seltzer, an eighth grade math teacher at the school.   

Seltzer guided last year's MathCounts team to a second place finish at the Eastern Chapter Competition and fifth place finish at States. 

"We cannot thank Mr. Seltzer enough for his efforts and leadership in organizing this for our children," said Li Su, one of the CLMS MathCounts team parents. "These are extremely valuable competitive experiences for their growing up and self-esteem development."   

The MathCounts Connecticut State Competition will be held on March 9 at the University of Hartford.   

The Annual Eastern Chapter MathCounts Competition is sponsored by the Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers, a state society of the National Society of Professional Engineers.  MathCounts is a nationwide middle school math program sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers.  The objective of MathCounts are to elevate the prestige associated with achievement in mathematics among 6th, 7th and 8th grade students, increase public awareness of the importance of mathematics and bring about improvements in the math curricula of our schools.