Our high school math team has a long-standing tradition of triumph. Each day, students and staff walk past a case filled with trophies and plaques in the upstairs hallway. Former JCHS Math Teacher Mr. Ron Nagrodski started the team in the 1985-1986 school year, building a reputation as one of the best in the state.
Since its inception, our high school math team has dominated at regionals and the state competition:
Won seven state titles
State runner-up 15 times
Won 25 Regional Championships
Current math team members are practicing for the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) High School State Math Competition after taking 1st place at regionals. Students claimed 21 out of 22 medals and earned a 681 score, a 314-point lead ahead of the high school that took second place.
The team spends hours a week solving math problems before and after school and on their lunch break. Senior Katelynn Turner wants to put as much effort into preparing as possible since this will be her last time going to state. She and other math team members even review after finishing their assignments in calculus class.
“We focus on math team stuff toward the end of the hour, so that we can get just a little more practice in,” Turner says. “We do the written competition. Then we go over as a class which problems we got wrong and which problems we should be getting right every time.”
Turner gravitates toward geometry, but she’ll also be quizzed on Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and pre-calculus at state. She’s up to the challenge after seeing some personal academic improvement throughout the team’s season.
“I love the shapes and triangles,” she explains. “I’m a big fan of Sine and Cosine. I think it’s because I really like art that I like shapes. I do think that I’ve learned a lot more this season. I feel like I can handle a lot more of the problems than I normally can.”
Multi-branch Mathematics Teacher Trevor Stanley coaches the team. He’s confident that his students have what it takes to be the number one public school and number two overall. Although thousands of students will be at state, our team’s fiercest competition is students from private schools.
“Some of the hardest-working kids in the state go to Johnston City,” Stanley says. “It doesn’t matter that they’re not attending a $50,000 a year tuition school out of Chicago. They’re just as good as those kids. They can compete with those kids.”
Overall, 23 of our high school students will participate in the state competition at the University of Illinois in Normal on April 26th. Each student can participate in up to three of four contests – individual, eight-person, calculator, and two-person.
Seniors:
Ty Clark
Jacob Johnson
Chase McReynolds
Seth Rice
Katelynn Turner
Juniors:
Mariah Hall
Graci Lakotich
Carson Murrah
Logan Smith
Sophie Walker
Sophomores:
Brylee Bailey
Hayden Burton
Andrew Keith
Amaya Peairs
Noah Pender
MacKenzie Turner
Daniel Ward
Freshmen:
Elijah Abbott
Brier Beck
Jack Carnine
Kate Carnine
Kace Grant
Jaxson Hope
“It’s not like basketball or baseball, where you play head-to-head,” Stanley explains. “Math team’s closest comparison is probably track and field, where it's not head-to-head against another team. You go out, run your race, and compare your times.”
One student who knows all about track and mathematics is Junior Carson Murrah, who dominates in the discus throw. Murrah joined the math team in his freshman year and likes to show his competitive side, whether on the field or using his thinking cap to solve tough problems.
“I get to show that we're better than a lot of people,” says the student athlete who also plays basketball. “The math team is different than athletics because it’s not physical. You're competing with your mind instead of using your body.”
Murrah is hopeful the math team can continue the school’s tradition of success in the coming days, and plans to do it all again in his senior year.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been the top public school in the state and second overall the past two years,” Murrah recalls. “I think we’ll do good.”
Turner agrees with Murrah and believes the math team will once again outsmart the competition. With this being Turner’s last time going to state, it’s a bittersweet moment. No matter the outcome, though, being on the math team has made a lasting mark on her future.
“I used to hate math before the math team,” she remembers. “From the math team, I’ve just learned this love for math. Then it led me to what I want to do in the future. I feel like it’s good for guiding students where they want to be.”
This fall, Turner will attend Southern Illinois University to study mechanical engineering. The university awarded her the prestigious Chancellor’s scholarship, worth more than $100,000 to cover tuition, mandatory fees, dorm expenses, and on-campus food costs.