First place team: Northern Middle School, Calvert County – From left, coach Kathy Dempster, Zac Gingue, Jacob Byun, Gage Reese, and Julio (JJ) Castillo.
Southern Maryland’s annual MATHCOUNTS competition marked its 31st anniversary on Saturday, February 5, 2025. More than 150 students from 18 schools gathered at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick to test their math skills.
A competitive technological world requires a proficiency in mathematics as a foundation for success in science, technology, and engineering. MATHCOUNTS aims to boost student interest in mathematics by making the subject challenging and entertaining.
Each year, more than 500 regional competitions are held in middle schools across the country, with winners advancing to state competitions and then to the national competition.
According to its website, MATHCOUNTS alumni are more likely to continue with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with three out of every four alumni studying a STEM field in college—nearly three times the national average. And MATHCOUNTS builds the critical thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for success: 95 percent of teachers believe that MATHCOUNTS problems are effective at improving their students’ problem-solving and critical thinking skills.
The local MATHCOUNTS competition features rounds of mathematics problems to challenge students one-on-one and as teams over the course of the three-hour event. First is the sprint round, a 30-question test that students complete individually. The competitors go next to the target round, where they have four sets of math problems and six minutes to complete each set of two questions.
Zac Gingue and Jacob Byun of Northern Middle School secured first and second place, respectively, in the individual competition, which was determined by combined scores from the sprint and target rounds.
The top 12 scorers finish the competition by facing each other in the countdown round, a single-elimination bracket-based tournament in which students must respond verbally to questions in a matter of seconds. Zebulun Gains from Windy Hill Middle School placed first, while Tigran Krbashyan from The Calverton School placed second, both representing schools in Calvert County.
In the team round, foursomes of students answer 10 questions in 20 minutes. Northern Middle School in Calvert County won first place; team members included Jacob Byun, Julio (JJ) Castillo, Zac Gingue, and Gage Reese, coached by Kathy Dempster. Windy Hill Middle School in Calvert County placed second; team members included Tobias Dorn, Zebulun Gaines, Liam Horn, and Eleanor Sinclair, coached by Carrie Pendleton. Spring Ridge Middle School in St. Mary’s County won third place; team members were Jack Flaherty, Austin Frazier, Oscar Neto, and Alex Vo, coached by Michele Atwell.
The team from Esperanza Middle School in St. Mary’s County took fourth place and Chesapeake Public Charter School took fifth place.
Sponsors for the local MATHCOUNTS competition are SMECO and the Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s county public schools. Volunteers from SMECO helped score the tests. Winners of the Southern Maryland chapter competition will go on to compete in the statewide contest at McDonogh School in Owings Mills. The top four individual competitors from each state competition receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the national competition in Washington, D.C., in May.
SMECO – The Cooperative Difference: SMECO was incorporated in 1937 and is one of the 15 largest electric cooperatives in the United States with more than 170,000 member accounts in Charles County, St. Mary’s County, southern Prince George’s County, and most of Calvert County.
Electric cooperatives are shaped by the communities they serve, because cooperatives are owned by their customers. Cooperative members elect the men and women who serve on the Board of Directors. Members share the responsibility of ownership by financing the cooperative’s operations, but they also share its rewards.
At the end of each year, SMECO’s margins (profits) are allocated to members’ capital credit accounts. SMECO uses its profits to invest in new construction, system improvements, and facility upgrades. The Board of Directors regularly evaluates the financial condition of the cooperative and determines when members will receive a refund. Since 1937, SMECO has refunded more than $128 million.
As a cooperative, SMECO will always put its members first and be responsive, reliable, and resourceful—the power you can count on.
Follow SMECO on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SMECO.coop and on X at www.x.com/somdelectric.
The SMECO 24/7 mobile app is available at www.smeco.coop/247.
First place team: Northern Middle School, Calvert County – From left, coach Kathy Dempster, Zac Gingue, Jacob Byun, Gage Reese, and Julio (JJ) Castillo.
Second place team: Windy Hill Middle School, Calvert County – From left, coach Carrie Pendleton, Liam Horn, Tobias Dorn, Zebulun Gaines, and Eleanor Sinclair.
Fourth place team: Esperanza Middle School, St. Mary’s County – From left, coach Mary Skulski, Jaxson Cooper, Harshal Shah, Emily Mynes, and Landon Quick.
Individual competition:
From left are coach Kathy Dempster, Zac Gingue, and Jacob Byun from Northern Middle School. Gingue placed first in the individual round, which is based on combined scores in the sprint and target rounds. Byun placed second.
Tigran Krbashyan from The Calverton School in Calvert County placed second in the countdown round.
Countdown winners: Zebulun Gains from Windy Hill Middle School in Calvert County placed first in the countdown round.
