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Last Saturday, four 8th grade students took part in the Blair County MathCounts competitions at Penn State Altoona, and they came away with one of the top performances in Blair County.

The team consisted of Ezri Bumgarner, Blake Pennington, Eric Johnson, and Noah Cokrlic, all of whom finished in the top 10 in the county. Noah’s third-place finish allowed him to advance to the state-level competition. Eric placed sixth, Blake was seventh, and Erzi finished her day in eighth.

The team is under the direction of 8th grade math teacher Mr. Drew Moyer.

The meet started promptly at 9 a.m. and lasted until about 2 p.m. The meet involved numerous math rounds along with a final Countdown round.

“It was a good experience. I did not have many expectations, so I’m happy about how I did.” said Blake.  

Mr. Moyer had about 16 students who would regularly attend practices during school hours. He has already asked this year’s participants if they would be interested in helping next year’s group prep by doing a mock Countdown round.

“Since this was my first year coaching, I learned about how to better prepare students for the event next year,” said Mr. Moyer. 

Due to the elimination of a pull-out gifted program last year, academic enrichment extracurriculars faced a new challenge this year. For some of the top students in middle school, competitive events like MathCounts are the best way for them to academically challenge and push themselves.

Some of these events partner with colleges and professional organizations to offer new opportunities for students. For example, at the state competitions for MathCounts Noah will have the opportunity to participate in engineering activities hosted by UPJ.

Some of the major sponsors of MathCounts included Raytheon Technologies, Northrop Grumman and the US Department of Defense. 

Congratulations to all four students placing in the top ten in Blair County.