Junior high students win third straight math competition

Many Columbia Public Schools students escaped math when Spring Break began last Friday, but West Junior High School’s MathCounts team members were still plugging away at a subject they enjoy.

West Junior High won its third consecutive state championship on Saturday in Rolla. The members of the winning team are eighth-graders Stephen Garton, Adam Sperber, Amadeus Zhu and Tasmeen Hussain. The team took first place with Amadeus placing second and Tasmeen placing fifth in the individual competition.

“It was just fun to take the test,” Amadeus said.

Coach and math teacher Mike Rowson started preparing 16 interested students in September. They practiced on old tests from previous competitions, much the same way other schools prepare, he said. Students qualified for the team based on high scores and speedy problem-solving on a sample test.

Students also practiced on their own. Tasmeen’s father helped her obtain books about probability, her weakness. Amadeus downloaded practice tests from the Internet.

“They’re just a group of kids who really love a math quiz,” Rowson said. He has all four students in accelerated math classes.

Tasmeen, originally an alternate, was excited to participate. She said this year’s team had worked together previously, on last year’s Smithton Middle School team.

“It was a big boost to our performance to have her do so well,” Rowson said.

Rowson credits the parents’ emphasis on education with their successes. The students are pushed to participate in other activities as well, he said, such as music lessons and Boy Scouts.

Tasmeen said Smithton Middle played a role in the team’s success. “We learned stuff at Smithton and built on it at West,” she said. “We already have one year of experience.”

Amadeus will travel to Arlington, Va., in May to participate in the National MathCounts competition with the state’s other top four finishers.

Rowson also coaches the state team.

“All I can do is teach sportsmanship and how to get along,” Rowson said, “and occasionally I can teach them how to solve a problem.”