A total of 172 students from seven middle schools competed at the annual OSU/MTC Math Challenge on the Marion campus on April 25. When the scores were calculated, the nine top students received $13,500 in scholarships from Marion Technical College and The Ohio State University at Marion.
Students from Elgin, Grant, Highland, Monclova Christian Academy, North Union, Pleasant, and River Valley Middle Schools took part.
“We’re incredibly proud of these young students for their achievements in mathematics,” said Dr. Ryan McCall, president of Marion Technical College. “Their hard work and talent at such an early age show great promise. Math opens doors to countless opportunities, and we’re excited to see where their skills will take them.”
“Having so many young math enthusiasts on campus and inspiring students to pursue math-based education is paramount to the future of medical, science, engineering, and industry job growth here in central Ohio. Math is the cornerstone to a multitude of STEM careers, and we are so pleased to reward these bright young minds with scholarships to our campus, where we have world-class faculty ready to teach them in programs like our bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Business, Engineering Technology, and Psychology and bring them in to high-powered internships and research projects in the process,” said Dr. Jennifer Schlueter, dean and director of The Ohio State University at Marion.
SCHOLARSHIPS
First-place winners in each grade earned a $1,000 scholarship to both colleges. Second-place winners received $750 scholarships from each college, and third-place winners were awarded $500 scholarships from both Ohio State Marion and Marion Tech.
6th Grade
1st Place: Tristan Sonoda, North Union
2nd Place: Christian Brown, North Union
3rd Place: Evan Meyer, North Union
7th Grade
1st Place: Sidney Shaffer, Highland
2nd Place: Victoria Hale, Highland
3rd Place: Gideon Sharp, Pleasant
8th Grade
1st Place: Oliver Schmelzer, Pleasant
2nd Place: Elise Kramp, Pleasant
3rd Place: Liam Cahall, Highland
Winning Teams
Top-performing schools were also recognized based on the combined scores of their highest-ranking students. Each team’s members received medals and their schools were awarded trophies.
1st Place – Highland Middle School
Team Members: Liam Cahall, Digory Richards, Sidney Shaffer, Victoria Hale, Aidan Mounts, William Carney
2nd Place – Pleasant Middle School
Team Members: Oliver Schmelzer, Elise Kramp, Gideon Sharp, Cadyn Peacock, Eric Naughton and Owen Cluff.
3rd Place – North Union Middle School
Team Members: Owen Wilcox, Lily Hall, Charles Colwell, Tristan Sonoda, Tera Fout and Liliana Mariucci.
EVENT ORGANIZERS
The event is made possible each year by a dedicated team who design, coordinate, and score the competition:
- David Gorenflo, retired Tech Prep Consultant, Marion Tech
- Tyler Maley, Director of Mathematics, Marion Tech
- Micah Chrisman, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Ohio State Marion
- Scott Zimmerman, Assistant Professor of Mathematics, Ohio State Marion
- Jackie Potts, Instructor of Mathematics, Marion Tech
- Brian McEnnis, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Ohio State Marion
- Sally O’Connor, former Adjunct Faculty, Marion Tech
- Thomas Smith III, Instructor of Mathematics, Marion Tech