The Math Team finished in 15th place in the State Finals at Illinois State University in Normal on Saturday, April 6, after advancing from their second place finish at the Regional Meet. Competing against many competitive schools in the state, the members were able to qualify the entire team, Joe Stetler ‘24 said. 

“Our team had a few auto-qualifiers for state, including me, Jack Farley ‘25, and Hunter Frommelt ‘25, who did well enough on the individual test to qualify,” Stetler said. “However, because of our team placement, the entire team freshmen through seniors got to qualify based on how many points we gained.”

To prepare for state, the team did mock competitions during practice to get used to the types of questions seen at state and the timing of the tests, Stetler said. The coaches also handed out old tests from past state meets that members can go over to review.

“Practices usually begin with students from each grade level meeting together,” freshman Math Team coach Laura Van Winkle said. “Then the freshmen and sophomores, as well as juniors and seniors practice with their teams. The teams are organized into eight-person, two-person, and calculator groups. Practices began meeting once a week from the beginning of September through April when the state competition was held.”

The eight-person, two-person, and calculator groups are practice groups determined by several run-off tests during the first semester, head coach Jennifer Szczesniak said. These run-off tests are similar in difficulty and same format as the actual competitions. The coaches analyze how many questions are answered correctly, as well as success in particularly difficult questions which signals a student who has a unique skill set. 

“Our team has definitely excelled when the stakes were the highest,” Stetler said. “We had great performances at conference and regionals that earned us a spot at state, and we were excited for the opportunity to improve on our 11th-place finish from last year. Towards the end of the year, it is really rewarding to see all of our hard work pay off and get the results we were hoping for.” 

A total count of 59 schools makes up the State attendance, Stetler said. Some members also won medals in their contests. Mark DeMonte ‘24 and Farley placed eighth overall in the Oral Competition, which was a huge improvement from last year. Andrew Jain ‘26, Alex Matysik ‘26, Suzy Avakian ‘26, Nate Leonauskas ‘26, Erin Hanzlik ‘26, and Alex Cuckovic ‘26 placed 10th as a team in the Geometry contest. Lastly, Hunter Frommelt 25’ and Stetler placed eighth in the two-person competition.

As for next year, Math Team hopes to continue to have the whole team qualify for State again, Van Winkle said. The coaches are very proud of this team and these results.