After a seven month period of competing in math meets and perfecting their skills, the LFHS Math Team’s season culminated in the ICTM Math State Contest the weekend of April 26.
Coached by Mr. Paul Goldstein, Mr. Steve Aronson, Mrs. Andrea Lemke, and Mrs. Lauren Aguina, the team achieved a seventh place finish, the highest that they have placed in a state meet in close to 20 years.
This meet had been anticipated all season as the most crucial event on the Math Team’s schedule, and started on Saturday April 26th, at Illinois State University. After the five hour bus ride to Normal, Illinois, the team arrived ready to perform.
“I’m so proud of the team,” senior Carolyn Stach, who led the Calculator and eight person Junior-Senior events, said. “All events were a lot harder than usual this year, and some of us left the competition room feeling like we wouldn’t place–but, clearly, you never know.”
The math team competes in Division 3AA, which includes high schools from 1100 to 1999 students.
“We have many selective enrollment schools in our particular Division, so seventh Place is a fantastic result for us,” 12-year math team coach Paul Goldstein said.
The team excelled as a whole this year, but specifically, the Calculator and Oral events both placed third. Several other events earned the team top-10 placements, contributing to their end result.
“Top 10 teams and individuals in each competition get a medal or plaque, and most of our students walked away with some kind of hardware this time, so we are super psyched about that,” Goldstein said.
Additionally, an impressive individual performance was put on by Gonzalo Zarazaga, who placed sixth in the junior solo event.
“I wasn’t expecting [sixth place], but luckily my hard work paid off,” said Zarazaga. “I was new to the math team this year, but the environment was really conducive to all around success.”
While the team has struggled to secure enough students to compete in the past, the involvement of new members like Zarazaga was what helped the team excel this year.
“Great participation numbers at all grade levels this year definitely contributed to [the team’s] success,” Goldstein said.
Stach also cited participation as a key factor in the team’s success.
“This year felt a lot more interconnected between the grades, which raised spirits and improved collaboration,” she said.
Though the full team has qualified for State for the past 20 years, they have not finished as high as seventh during that period. The team initially thought they placed in eighth. However, after a scoring mistake was discovered, the team found out that they actually got seventh.
“Although it felt like a surprise, getting seventh overall really was the result of hard work and weekly practices throughout the year,” Stach said.
This performance was a large improvement from last year, when the team placed 14th, and signals the beginning of many good things to come.
“It has taken a few years post-Covid to get our groove back, but we are firing on all cylinders now for sure,” Goldstein said. “All the coaches are back again next year, so we have every intention of matching or beating our achievements a year from now.”
