Laramie Student Wins State Mathcounts Competition for Third Time

Qingfeng Li, an eighth-grade student at Laramie Junior High School, won first place at the recent 2015 Wyoming State Mathcounts competition at the University of Wyoming for an unprecedented third consecutive time.

“He is really amazing,” says Jeff Anderson, state Mathcounts coordinator in the UW College of Engineering and Applied Science.

Antonina Klatka, an eighth-grader at Rock Springs Junior High School, finished in second place; eighth-grader Yingzhou Du Widi from Cheyenne’s McCormick Junior High School was third; and Laramie Junior High School eighth-grader David Zhang placed fourth.

Li, Klatka, Du Widi and Zhang make up this year's Wyoming state team, which will compete at nationals May 7-10 in Boston, Mass. This year's head coach is Dennis Rimmasch, a Laramie Junior High School teacher.

Open to all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students, Mathcounts helps students understand how math is important to solve problems in everyday life, Anderson says. He says 56 students competed in the event that featured a tour of the drilling simulator and 3-D Cave in the UW Energy Innovation Center.

“Mathcounts offers fun and challenging math programs to expand academic and professional opportunities for middle school students of all ability and interest levels,” Anderson says.