A team from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts won Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s third annual All-State Coding Competition held May 18 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
The ASMSA team of junior Karsen Beck of Maumelle and seniors Noah Raby of Newport and William Shaver of North Little Rock won the competition that featured 17 teams from across the state. ASMSA qualified in one of the regional competitions held earlier this year to determine 16 of the finalists. A team from last year’s first-place school rounded out the group of competitors. A total of 122 teams from across the state participated in the regional competitions.
Teams worked on five coding problems of increasing difficulty during the competition, attempting to find the best coding solution in the quickest amount of time.
This was the third year of the annual coding competition. It also was the third year in a row ASMSA had a team place high in the completion. The 2018 team finished in second place while two teams swept first and second place in the inaugural competition in 2017.
Nick Seward, a computer science instructor at ASMSA and the team’s adviser, praised the team for their efforts. He said they each used what they initially learned in class at ASMSA to build on during the competition.
“These students have all worked incredibly hard to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to compete at this level. I have each one in class. Each one of them will use what is taught in class as a starting point for their own exploration. Together they have a breadth and depth of knowledge that surpass most professionals,” Seward said.
Each team member was awarded a 529 College Savings Plan scholarship for $2,000 each for their accomplishment. ASMSA was awarded $10,000 to support the school’s computer science program in recognition of the team’s victory.
“The increasing number of schools that compete each year and the caliber of the competitors shows that coding is catching on all over Arkansas,” Hutchinson said. “Our students and educators understand that computer science is a key to a great future for themselves and for our state. Congratulations to the winners.”