Regionals is the one competition each year when HHS mathletes get to shine and show off their incredible thinking skills. This year was no different.
During the entire year, the math team prepares themselves for each competition with multiple practices during the morning, advisory, lunch, and even after school.
Along with practicing questions of every type, mathletes have been given one individual test containing past problems from previous competitions since the beginning of this semester.
Coach Kyle Harlow feels “[they are] working hard to develop [their] depth and [they] will go as far as [their] “bench” will take us. It is [their] depth that will make a difference between a good score and a really great score”.
Everyone felt prepared and excited for the upcoming competition. Team members already had high expectations for themselves and the people around them.
John Braid thought the team “would win Regionals and, hopefully, blow Anna-Jonesboro out of the water. [He expected] they will win”.
This work was not in vain. Along with being the first 2A team in this competition, almost every Herrin team placed first in each competition.
Freshman Logan Droves took first place individually in Algebra 1. Tyler Dodson was with him when he placed first with a whopping 38 points, one question away from a perfect score. Vince Champion and John Braid also earned first place in Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus respectively.
Vince Champion thought he would “get first or second”, and he had a “good feeling [they] would win Regionals” from the start.
Each of the teams per grade also placed first through each subject. The calculator team placed first along with both two-person teams, the freshman-sophomore and junior-senior teams.
The freshman-sophomore two-person team barely missed first by just a couple questions but still secured a second place victory. The junior-senior team picked up the team by placing first in their category.
Tyler Dodson mentioned how “math team is his favorite extracurricular”, and he expects improvements for his whole team going into state.
Finally, the presentation team placed first in their category. Presentation team, unlike the other competitions, pre-records their presentation and submits it to the board early for grading. Participants only find out their score during awards.
With an overall team score of 694, the team beat last year’s score of 559 and have set themselves up for success.
However, for some, this is their last regional. When asked about what math team meant to him, Nathan Abba said math team “is a comfort knowing [he] is doing his favorite subject all the time” and “since it is not for a grade, it is just all fun”.
With a roaring start, the math team plans to conquer the state competition in April and take home some big awards at their next competition.
