Eighth grader Jason Sanderlin of Laramie Junior High School won first place at the 2011 Wyoming State Mathcounts competition held at the University of Wyoming.
Kenny Russell of Big Piney Middle School finished the competition in second place, while Sanderlin's teammate, Yilun Du, won third place and Alyssa Ellis of Davis Middle School in Evanston took fourth.
Big Piney Middle School won the team competition, followed by Cheyenne's McCormick Junior High School, East Middle School of Rock Springs, Powell Middle School and Laramie Junior High School.
Sanderlin, Russell, Du and Ellis make up this year's Wyoming state team to compete at nationals May 5-8, in Washington, D.C. This year's head coach Jeff Banks of Big Piney Middle School and assistant coach Dennis Rimmasch of Laramie Junior High School will lead the nationally-bound team.
Open to all sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, Mathcounts helps students understand how math is important to solve problems in everyday life, says Jeff Anderson, state Mathcounts coordinator in the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).
The Wyoming Society of Professional Engineers, American Public Works Association-Rocky Mountain Chapter, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the CEAS sponsor the state competition.
National sponsors are the CAN Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, Texas Instruments Incorporated, 3M Foundation, Raytheon Company, National Defense Education Program, Northrop Grumman and ThinkFun Inc.
