About 40 middle school students from across Arkansas tested their mathematics skills recently by competing in the first ASMSA Middle School Math Tournament.
The event featured competitors from Lake Hamilton Junior High School, North Little Rock Middle School and Elkins Middle School. Inclement weather prevented at other teams from participating in the tournament. The competition was held April 5 at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in Hot Springs. ASMSA’s Outreach Department served as the tournament’s host.
The tournament included individual and team competitions where students were given a designated amount of time to answer math questions. Awards were announced for first through third place for both the individual and team events.
David Wood from North Little Rock Middle School won first place in the individual event. Paxton Bowsman of North Little Rock Middle School placed second with Lily Pielemeier of Lake Hamilton Junior High School finishing third. Participants were given three minutes each for 10 questions in the individual competition. The top three finishers tied after the initial round and were given a round of tiebreaking questions to determine the final order.
Participants were split into groups of three, four or five competitors each in the team competition. Each team was given three minutes per question to answer 10 problems. Lake Hamilton Junior High School swept the top three spots in the team competition.
The results for the team competition were:
- The team of Lily Pielemeier, Liam Williams, Conner Willix, Mason Wolf and Bo Martin of Lake Hamilton Junior High.
- The team of Kaiser Jaskovic, Carson Turney, Eli McCain and Hudson Estrada of Lake Hamilton Junior High
- The team of Tavin Leggate, Adler Lemley, Garrett Lewis, Ethan Peret and Parker Petty of Lake Hamilton Junior High
This was the first year ASMSA has hosted the tournament. It was made possible by a $10,000 grant from the Mathematical Association of America Neff Outreach Fund to ASMSA to help establish a Math Olympiad program for Arkansas middle-schoolers.
The Mathematical Association of America is the world’s largest community of mathematicians, students and enthusiasts whose mission is to advance the understanding of mathematics and its impact on our world.
The Neff Outreach Fund was established in the summer of 2022 by the MAA and the John and Mary Neff Foundation. The Neff Foundation has provided funding to support projects designed to encourage middle school students to study and persist in their interest in mathematics. The Neff Outreach Fund helps MAA to offer a pilot outreach program that serves middle school students in rural and indigenous communities.
ASMSA was one of five institutions nationwide to receive a Neff Outreach Fund grant in 2022. The grant is allowing ASMSA’s Outreach Department to create a Math Olympiad program which will introduce, teach and foster important mathematical concepts and strategies for flexible problem solving, intuition, creativity and ingenuity for all participants.