It's Brainy-Game-Show-Meets-Final-Four at Hatboro-Horsham's District-Wide Elementary Math Competition

Horsham, PA….Moments before the day’s competition began, the ten boys representing their schools in a district-wide elementary mathematics battle waited for their introductions to the crowd in the Hatboro-Horsham High School auditorium and wished each other luck. It was finally the day of the district’s fourth annual 24 Tournament.

In 24 Game, players are given four numbers that they must use to add, subtract, multiply and divide their way to 24. All four numbers must be used, and all math used to reach the sum of 24 must be correct. The first player to meet those conditions wins the round. Rounds take mere seconds.

This year’s Hatboro-Horsham competition began in April. Every student in every fourth- and fifth-grade classroom at Blair Mill, Crooked Billet, Hallowell, Pennypack and Simmons elementary schools played the game, with classroom winners challenging each other until each school found two champions: one in fourth grade, one in fifth.

“At first, you’re just excited and you can’t wait to start the game,” said Liam Rowan, Simmons’ fifth-grade champion. “As you are actually going farther (in the competition), you get more and more excited, and then you get nervous.”

Gregory Betron, Pennypack’s fourth-grade champ, said the 24 competition “gives you a chance to show everybody how good you are at math.”

“The 24 tournament is really fun,” said Nathan Lee, Simmon’s fourth-grade champion. “It’s getting really challenging for me, and I like stuff that is challenging.” The district-wide tournament “feels like a very big thing,” he said.

That’s exactly what the organizers were going for.

“We tend to do a lot to recognize excellence in reading and language arts, but this plays to a different strength, and is an opportunity for different kids to shine,” said Gayle Williamson, an assistant principal at Hallowell and one of the competition organizers. The competition also “helps students realize that math is not just a tool you need to function in life, it is something you just might really enjoy doing,” added Dr. Monica J. Taylor, assistant superintendent.

Dr. Taylor gave a sportscaster-like introduction for each competitor, during which the audience learned that Crooked Billet’s Robby Gutekunst hopes to become a professional baseball player and James “Jay” Wray either a computer programmer or surgeon. After their names were announced, the contestants jogged down the aisle to their theme music (Hallowell’s Matthew Bartie chose Imperial March, also known as Darth Vader’s theme) and the cheers and chants of classmates and parents.

“It’s wonderful,” said James “Jay” Wray’s dad, James “Alex” Wray. “I’m very proud of him.”

“Everything I’ve heard says that we have some very strong competitors performing for us today,” said Simmons teacher and organizer Peter Moore. Mr. Moore got a little philosophical: “This is the first time you are all coming together as a group, but two years from now, you will all be 6th and 7th graders at Keith Valley (Middle School). We are all Hatters together.”

The crowd grew loud for all competitors, but quieted to silence whenever a round of competition began.

It took less than an hour for the fast-paced competition to narrow the field to Simmons’ Nathan Lee, who was named overall fourth-grade champion, and Crooked Billet’s Robby Gutekunst, who earned the fifth-grade title. Three more rounds and Nathan – whose classmates have nicknamed him “The Human Calculator” - was district-wide champion.

Here’s the complete list of champions, by school and grade: Blair Mill Elementary, Scott Douglass III, grade 5, Noah Schlosser, grade 4; Crooked Billet, Robby Gutekunst, grade 5, James Wray, grade 4; Hallowell, Matthew Bartie, grade 5, Alex Ferrante, grade 4; Pennypack, Colin Wilburn, grade 5, Gregory Betron, grade 4; Simmons, Liam Rowan, grade 5, Nathan Lee, grade 4.