Middle school students to compete in math at Aiken Tech today

After winning two state MathCounts titles as a St. Mary Help of Christians middle school student, David Stoner has moved on to South Aiken High School and is no long eligible for the competition. The regional event with 10 participating schools will be held today at Aiken Technical College.

Middle school students in 10 area schools will display their math skills in the annual MathCounts competition at Aiken Technical College today.

Each school will compete as a team, and all of the participants will seek individual honors, as well.

Throughout the morning, the students will compete in individual and team quizzes and tests. The top two teams will move to a state MathCounts competition. The top two individuals who are not on one of the winning teams will also quality.

Beginning around 12:55 p.m., the top 16 individuals will participate in an informal “Countdown Round,” with students going one-on-one until a winner is named.

The teams participating today are Aiken Area Home Educators, JET Middle School, Leavelle McCampbell Middle School, Mead Hall, Merriwether Middle School, Kennedy Middle School, New Ellenton Middle School, North Augusta Middle School, St. Mary Help of Christians School and Schofield Middle School.

“It’s always amazing to see the talent that comes up during each competition,” said SRS engineer Jeff Pike, who has been involved with MathCounts for about two decades, coordinating the regionals for about 10 years. “Every year there are kids that surprise the heck out of me in these oral competitions.”

The individual title will be up for grabs today for the first time in several years. David Stoner, then a student at St. Mary,’s won that title the past three years in a row. He took the state championships as well in 2010 and 2011 to qualify for the national contest. Stoner “graduated” from MathCounts in 2011 and is now a freshman at South Aiken High School.

“David was unusual,” said Pike. “It’s tough to make it to the national competition.”

The regional event is sponsored by the Aiken chapter of the S.C. Society of Professional Engineers.

Much of the incentive for the establishment of MathCounts, said Pike, is to encourage students math and science and engineering.

“A lot of the kids we hear about have gone on to become engineers,” said Pike. “But the U.S. in general doesn’t perform well in math. This is one way to help improve and increase interest in math. It is a fundamental tool for practically anything.”

Senior writer Rob Novit, a journalist for the past 41 years, joined the Aiken Standard staff in 2001. He covers education news and general assignments.