Many people run from problems, but students on the math team hunt them. With a number two pencil and a mastery of algebra, they aren’t just solving for x, rather, they are proving that math is the ultimate competitive contest.
The Westford Academy Math Team competed at the New England Mathematics Competition on Friday, May 1 at Canton High School and placed seventh in the large school division. Senior and co-captain Jeffrey Xu was recognized for earning a perfect score, with sophomore Vivaan Tanna following close after, earning the title of second-highest scorer. WA advanced to the New England competition after finishing third in the large school division at the State Mathematics Competition in Worcester. There, senior and co-captain Hansen Shieh was recognized for earning a perfect score.
Each member competes in three individual rounds consisting of three questions each and ten minutes per round. In the first round, questions are each worth one point, two points each in the second round, and three points each in the third round, gradually increasing in difficulty. At the end, there is a team round where people work together for 12 minutes to solve six questions, which are worth four points each.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” Math Team advisor and WA math teacher Lisa Gartner said. “Individually, every student improved from the state meet.”
As Math Team advisor, one of Gartner’s responsibilities is to run the qualifiers and decide who gets to participate at each meet. Gartner chooses students based on who is available, their performance, and who has participated in at least two regular season meets, which is needed to have enough experience for the state meet. There are usually some changes from the state meet to the New England meet based on individual performance and availability.
Unlike a regular season meet, where the school is allowed to bring 10 students, eight students participated in this competition. The participants were seniors Zain Irfan, Shieh, and Xu; juniors Austin Li and Harshatej Simhadri; sophomores Gerald Li and Tanna; and freshmen Rayan Irfan and Sebastian Spiller. Shieh only participated in the state competition and Tanna only participated in the New England competition.
“I think it’s good for our team to do these competitions together because just spending time with each other […] creates a nice bond,” Shieh said.
There is also a social aspect to this competition, as students get to interact with people from other schools who are also passionate about math. In addition, many students do math-related extracurriculars, so they get to meet students they know from these extracurriculars who attend different schools.
“It’s an opportunity to get together with them, do some networking, and the kids enjoy it,” Gartner said. “It’s kind of like a sport. You don’t want to just practice by yourself; you want to compete.”
According to Gartner, the three senior captains made an impact on the team, as WA took a younger team with more underclassmen to the competition this year. In addition to earning 46 out of the total 80 points earned during the individual rounds at the state meet, the captains also helped the students during the team rounds and during meetings after school. Irfan would make sure that all answers were being attempted during the team round, while Xu and Shieh would do multiple questions themselves to help their team members.
“All three of them are amazing, and [with] our underclassmen coming up, the future is bright for the math team,” Gartner said.
The captains work together to plan the weekly meetings, where they give a presentation on a math topic or the team practices for the competitions. The topics that students are assessed go beyond what is taught in WA’s math curriculum.
The captains have also been hosting a competition for middle schoolers since last year. It is called the WA Math Tournament, and middle schoolers from Westford, Acton, and other surrounding towns are invited to WA for a day to compete. It takes months of planning for the captains to write problems and get word out about the competition.
“I’ve learned how to manage time and what it takes to plan a big event like that. So, that [has been] one of my biggest takeaways,” Shieh said.
According to Gartner, she finds that the competition is a lot of fun for the students. During the regular season, schools are grouped by location and not necessarily by ability or what their standing is in the competition. At the state and New England competition, students can meet people from other strong teams that do not compete in the same league as them.
“It’s kind of like our playoffs,” Gartner said. “People aren’t coming to cheer with the math team, but it’s still great to have that sort of opportunity when it’s earned.”
Shieh encourages everyone to join the math team. He notices that some people doubt whether they are good enough for math team, but believes everyone can get something good out of attending meetings and having a good time.
“There’s no such thing as failing in math team,” Shieh said.