The Mathletes will roll in with blazing calculators to the Tenth Annual Math Competition at Mott Community College on March 20.

Mr. Mark Zimmerman and Mr. Chris Torok, math teachers, discussed and decided which students they would invite to go to the math competition.

They ended up picking three teams to compete.

Seniors Dylan Brewer, Aaron Haack, Ruth Erickson, and Ben Roof are the first team.

The second team consists of seniors Miranda Blaine, Chase Bailey, Evan Flood, and Junior Robert Alarie.

Finally, juniors Katie Valley, Shelby Coates, Taylor Stockton, and Levi Madar make up the third team.

The team of juniors was invited so they could get some experience and, hopefully, return next year.

“I will go next year if it (the competition) is available,” Alarie said. “I have no idea how well I will do though.”

As a preparation for the competition, Zimmerman plans to take the students to Starlite and for breakfast so their brains get warmed up.

Zimmerman also has planned to practice previous math problems from the competition with the participating students for further preparation. He held one practice March 12 and is having another practice March 19 right after school.

The competition will consist of 12 rounds: six rounds of problems with no calculator, and six rounds with a calculator.

Each round consists of four difficult math problems. Each round is only 10 minutes long.

“I expect to do math and a lot of problems,” Coates said. “Depending on this year, I might go again next year.”

Kearsley’s teams will be competing against schools such as Grand Blanc and LakeVille, competitors from previous years.

“I did fairly well in the Flint Metro League competition,” Alarie said. “I came in first for the geometry test my freshman year.”

To attend this competition, the school had to pay Mott $25 total for all three teams to compete.

In every year that Zimmerman has brought teams to the competition, at least one team has made it to the top 10.

This year, he has the same expectations.

As for Coates, she has more belief in her team than in herself.

“I honestly do not expect to do well,” Coates said. “But altogether, as a team, I think we will do OK.”

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