Mathcounts 2004
Congratulations
to the 2004 SASSDS Math Team
1st place in the Regional Level
9th place in the MA State
Level
The team trained hard for the chapter level competition
which took place at 2:30 PM Wednesday, February 11, at the McCarthy Middle
School
in Chelmsford. The mathletes arrived back in Sharon at
8:30
PM. Thanks to the mothers of Reuben Aronson, Jacob Ahearn,
and
Jesse Katz for driving. Thanks to Bob Golden once
again
for providing kosher pizza!
The team was chosen via competition open to all middle school
students.
The top eight scores made the team. The 2004 team includes three
repeat
mathletes, Reuben, Jacob, and Daniel. All three students have
been
on the team since 6th grade, giving us the most experienced team we
have
ever had. The rest of the team are all rookies. It is rare
for
a 6th grader to make the team. The only time it has ever happened
was
in the case of the three boys mentioned earlier. The top
6th
grade score this year was 18/46 (Zeke Waisel), showing promise and
potential
for next year. The lowest score that made the team was 26/46, and
the
highest was 40/46. Jesse Katz made an excellent showing with
25/46,
just out of the top eight spots, and Ashley Tabroff was just behind him
with
22/46.
Team I:
Team II:
Reuben Aronson
(Captain) Grade 8
Tali Barone (Captain) Grade 8
Jacob Ahearn
Grade 8
Meital Haas
Grade 7
Daniel Glaun
Grade 8
Zach Kriegel
Grade 7
Rafi Spitzer
Grade 8
Josh Kriegel
Grade 7
Jesse Katz and Ashley Tabroff will be stepping in for Tali and Meital,
who
cannot compete this year due to scheduling. Zach Kriegel
will
be acting captain of Team II.
SASSDS
MathCounts Math Team
Team I: top row
(left to right): Rafi Spitzer, Jacob Ahearn, Shai
Simonson (Coach), Daniel Glaun, Reuben Aronson (Captain)
Team II: bottom
row: (left to right): Ashley Tabroff, Jesse Katz,
Zach Kriegel, Josh Kriegel
2004 Regional Results
Fifteen
school
competed comprising thirty teams with more than 110 students altogether
-
the most ever at this level. Our first team won by a decisive
margin
with a score of 51/66. (The team score is the average of the four
indivdual
scores plus twice the team event. This was 31 + 2*10 = 51.
For
more details about scoring see competition).
Our first team's performance this year sets the bar very
high for our future mathletes.
We won decisively
despite
the fact that the second place team (Doherty Middle School of Andover)
beat us man for man in the individual
competition. Their scores were 36, 35, 34, 33 (average
34.5) compared with our scores of 33, 33, 31, 27 (average 31).
Our team understood the importance of the team section of the event,
prepared
carefully, and scored a perfect ten out of ten! The second
place team scored 5/10. This gave us a 10 point edge (team
score is doubled in final count) in the team round, and a 6.5 overall
lead. No team except us scored higher than 6/10 in the team round.
How does a team outmatched individually in every slot, still double the
score of the other team? Think USA Hockey 1980 Olympics, and you
get the idea. Our team members respect one another, put
egos
aside, and back each other up. Nobody on our team is immune to
making a mistake, and everyone is open to hearing where they may have
gone wrong. They are an army of problem solvers unified
against the problem.
Our second team came in about 10th (final scores pending), ahead of all
the
other second teams. The second team showed real promise for the
future.
We look forward to next year.
Individually, Reuben and Jacob were in the top 10, and Reuben made it
to
4th place overrall in the countdown round. Jesse Katz was the top
of the second team
individuals,
and about 16th overall.
Team I wins First Prize Trophies: (Left to right): Reuben Aronson
(Captain), Rafi Spitzer, Jacob Ahearn, Daniel Glaun
2004 State Results
The
state
level
competition
was on Saturday, March 6. Thanks again to Dan O'Brien
and MathCounts for arranging a special non-Shabbat date for our
team. As usual the state competition was much harder than
the regional level. The top 24 teams in the state competed.
The top five in order were: Jonas Clark (Lexington), Diamond
(Lexington), Chenery (Belmont),
Thurston (Westwood), and Boston Latin (Boston). Our
team came in ninth just a tad behind the 6th place score, with a team
score of 37/66.
The individual scores were 30, 29, 25, 24 (Reuben, Daniel, Rafi,
Jacob), and a team round of 5/10. 37 = 27 (average of
individuals) + 2*5 (twice the team score). All the individual
scores were in the top 50 in the state with Reuben and Daniel 28th and
33rd respectively.
This was a great
year - our best ever. We came in first in the region and 9th in
the state. No other Jewish Day school, or small school
placed in the top ten. Jacob Ahearn was brave to compete with a
high fever and terrible
cold. No doubt he would have scored a bit higher at his
best, but the highest we could realistically have achieved at this
level is fifth overall. The whole team was very supportive
of each other. Afterward, we joined the Maimonides team and we
all enjoyed a delicious dinner at Taam China to relax,
celebrate, and unwind.
Back to
Homepage
Email me: shai@stonehill.edu
My
professional homepage
