LHS Mathletes from Six Events Advance to State Finals

LEMONT, IL - At the Joliet Junior College Regional in February, Lemont High School's Mathletes fell just short of qualifying as a team for the 2017 Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics State Finals.

However, Lemont did advance competitors in six events to take part in the ICTM Division 3AA State Finals, which will be held Saturday, May 6, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

According to a release from the school, Lemont finished as the runner-up at the Joliet Junior College Regional, totaling 380 points. Willowbrook (399) won the ICTM Regional, while Lemont, Providence Catholic (272), Yorkville (261) and Romeoville (237) rounded out the top five. Willowbrook earned automatic qualification to the ICTM Division 3AA State Finals by winning the regional.

The school said Lemont won both the Algebra II Written Team and Freshman/Sophomore 8-Person Team competitions. The Algebra II squad includes juniors Anna Ford, Reece Graham, Laura Hunter, Jana Lacanlale, Alex Paulius and Arjun Reddigari; and the Freshman/Sophomore 8-Person team features sophomores Lucy Conway, Matt Gasienica, Kirsten Kash and Melanie LeBeck, and freshmen Caroline Bukowski, Manisha Joseph, Aubrey Molitor and Jacob Pulido.

Lemont also finished as the regional runner-up in Algebra I Team Written, Geometry Team Written, Freshman/Sophomore 2-Person Team, Junior/Senior 2-Person Team, and Junior/Senior 8-Person Team.

Reddigari and Lacanlale took first and second, respectively, in the Algebra II individual category, while senior Jimmy Sliwa was the runner-up in Pre-Calculus. Kash and sophomore Anna Goranski tied for third in Geometry, and Joseph and Pulido tied for third in Algebra I.

Earlier this season, Lemont won its fifth straight South Suburban Conference-Blue Division title; it was the program’s sixth SSC Blue crown.

Lemont’s Mathletes team is coached by Angela Marshall, Dardrae Breig, Abbey Scupin and Ken Suslek.

Photo provided by Lemont High School.