2023 Southwest Region State Math Contest
Western Wyoming Community College (Western) hosted 116 students from nine different schools in the College’s service area for the annual 2023 Southwest Regional Math Contest on March 14 in the Rushmore Gym.
Students in grades 6 through 12 participated in the competition this year. The event is sponsored by TATA Chemicals and Western’s Mathematics Department. TATA Chemicals covered the costs associated with the event with a generous donation.
“Tata Chemicals is once again proud to sponsor and support the 2023 Southwest Region State Math Contest. This is a wonderful event and a great opportunity for students in Southwest Wyoming to test their math skills. We want to thank Western Wyoming Community College for hosting this event. They do a wonderful job. We also would like to thank and recognize the teachers that work with and prepare the students for this opportunity,” states David Young, Program Management Officer at Tata Chemicals.
Schools in attendance included Davis Middle School, Evanston High School, Evanston Middle School, Pinedale High School, Rawlins High School, Saratoga Middle/High School, Lincoln Middle School, Rock Springs High School, and Rock Springs Junior High School.
Rock Springs High School took the top scores for Team A (grades 11 and 12) and Team B (grades 9 and 10). Natalie Sleight, from Rock Springs High School, took first individual place in Team A and won a one-year scholarship to Western.
Team C (grade 8) and Team D (grades 6 and 7) participants use the competition as an excellent exercise to hone their skills as they prepare to compete in the state-ranked A and B teams in the future.
“This year, Western hosted many contestants from the Southwest Region. The Math Department is, once again, delighted to welcome an amazing group of creative problem solvers to our event. The persistence, confidence, and creative thinking that these students showcase during the contest is evident when they complete 50 challenging math problems. This year we piloted a Team Round. Competitors worked in small teams of up to three students on solving 2 problems in 20 minutes. It was a success! We are considering including team round next year,” states Lusi Stephens, Associate Professor of Mathematics at Western.
Western professors and Math Contest Co-Chairs Lusi Stephens, Dragan Skropanic, Paul Johnson, and Kaylee Tuttle, led the event though it was a collaborative effort by many others who contributed their time to ensure this event ran smoothly.
To learn more about events happening on campus visit Western’s calendar at westernwyoming.edu/calendar. For more information regarding the math contest please contact Lusi Stephens at lstephens@westernwyoming.edu. For general information regarding Western Wyoming Community College, visit westernwyoming.edu.