Maine schools field top competitors in New England math league contest

CORINTH — More than 1,000 high schoolers recently finished up a year of competitions in mathematics — and they weren’t the only ones. Pupils from a variety of Maine schools have distinguished themselves in middle school contests, as well.

The top sixth-grade team from Maine in the New England Mathematics League hails from Central Middle School in Corinth, said assistant principal Jim Russell, coach of this year’s team for youngsters in grades six through eight at the school.

Central’s team of Dustin D’Agostino, Daniel Kekacs, Andrea LaFlamme, Traci Underhill, Dylan Watt and Abby Arena compiled a score of 145, compared to 144 by William S. Cohen School in Bangor and Brunswick Junior High School. Five scores are counted, but Watt and Arena tied for the fifth score for the team.

Nearly 300 schools took part in the sixth-grade contest, said Russell, which involves taking a math test on paper, then submitting it to contest officials in Sharon, Mass.

Rockland District Middle School had the top seventh-grade team from Maine, tying for 11th among 218 schools across New England. Top scorers from Rockland in that grade were Chris Peverada, who came in first in the contest among Maine seventh-graders, and Tom Chartrand. Cohen Middle School was the second-highest Maine team, and Brunswick was third in the seventh grade.

In the eighth-grade competition, Falmouth Middle School was tops among Maine schools, tying for 14th among 224 schools in New England. Team members were: Ben Hansen, Nathan Lewis, Ted Bennett, Conor Frantzen and Charlie Winger. Brunswick was the second-highest Maine team for eighth grade, and Cohen Middle School was third.

Top individual scorers from Maine were Dustin D’Agostino of Central, who tied for 18th among nearly 1,500 sixth-graders; Chris Peverada of Rockland, who tied for second among nearly 1,100 seventh-graders; and Ben Hansen of Falmouth, who tied for second among 1,125 eighth-graders.

In addition, Andrew Quinton of Wells tied for ninth among eighth-graders. Ethan Lambert of Cohen School and Sylvanus Polky of Brunswick tied for 11th in the seventh grade, and Tom Chartrand of Rockland tied for 22nd.

Often, Russell explained, many of the pupils and teams score well in a variety of mathematics competitions throughout the year.

In the large school division of the Eastern Maine Mathematics League for middle schools, Central came in first for the year in grade six, Reeds Brook of Hampden was first in grade seven, and Orono was tops in both grade eight and grade nine.

In the small-school category, teams from Orland swept the top spots in grades six, seven and eight, while Nokomis in Newport was first in grade nine.

Teams take tests at their schools during the fall, winter and spring, Russell explained, then wind up the season with a giant meet at the Bangor Civic Center. It’s good for the youngsters to get together for a meet, he said, something that happens regularly on the high school level, and he’d like to see some local meets next year for the middle schoolers.

“We practice once a week during the math season,” he said, in an after-school activity that includes snacks. “We try to have a balance between practice and fun.”

The school is “obviously very proud” of how the kids have done, he said, paying tribute to the efforts of Ann Weisleder, migrant educator, who has coached the team, and to the support of principal Martin Gray.

Tops among individual scorers for the year in the large school category were: sixth grade, Daniel Kekacs and Andrea LaFlamme, Central; seventh grade, Stephanie Alessi and Carrie Johnston, Mattanawcook, Lincoln; eighth grade, Parker Eason of Orono, and Rachael Bay, Leonard Middle School, Old Town; and ninth grade, Jarred Brown, Hampden Academy, and Christina Domnisoru and Elliot Alford, Orono.

Among small schools, top scorers were: sixth grade, Tara Taylor and Kim Hyorth, Orland; seventh grade, Ben Weissman, Dedham, and Chris Patterson, Orland; eighth grade, Eli Levenson-Falk, Caravel School, Carmel, and Erica Guse and Rachael Wardwell, Orland; and ninth grade, Gavin Dow and John Coons, Nokomis.