MATH TEAM 2005

Building On Success

Captain

MITCH COSTLEY

(Advanced Math MVP; ARML; Mu Alpha Theta President, State team member)

VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS

John Barnett

James Bascle

Alicia Bellis

Eryn Bernardy

Max Bernardy (State team member) Joseph Bost

William Brawley

Justin Gilstrap

Erin Gorman

Alex Hamilton

Kayla Koch (GHP)

Amy Lanchester

Julie Leber

Salman Makhani (PreCal MVP)

Julie Matthews

Garett McLaurin

Kathryn Moore

Ryan Moore

Sophia Newton

Bre’Ana Paige

John Powell

Lacy Reynolds

Britt Schneider

Frankie Snavely

Kevin Todd (Mu Alpha Theta Secretary) Ben Wu (State team member)

Jodie Wu (Mu Alpha Theta Vice-President)

Jonathan Wysolovski (Calculus MVP; ARML, State team member)

JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS

Melanie Allen

Sam Brotherton (Algebra MVP; ARML) Daniel Chen

Raymond Clunie

Katie Dugan

Allyse Keel

Nayoon Kim (ARML)

Amy Kovac

Thomas Polstra

Steven Rouk

After winning the State Championship in April 2004, the 2004-2005 school year was a challenge to maintain the success... and to prove to all that we could do it again! Luckily for us, the new school year saw latent mathematical talents develop in the underclassmen and it brought a new group of freshmen that would go on to become some of the top math team students in the state.

As the school year started, we wondered if we could pull off another championship. Our first clue that it was achievable was in October at the UGA Math Tournament. This tournament is a highly challenging one that draws lots of students from all over the state, including many Georgia ARML students. Since schools many submit up to three four-person teams, each four-person team is competing against all other four-person teams, including those from the same school! So to place in the top 10 teams is quite an accomplishment for any four-person team. When our team placed 4th, we knew we had a shot at the State Championship again.

Our motivation to clinch the state tournament was cemented at the Mercer University tournament in November, where the team placed first. Having placed first there last year, this win showed us that we could repeat our success.

The rest of the year was filled with a multitude of tournaments and contests. Our results were helped greatly by our superlative senior class and a wonderful array of talented underclassmen. They helped the team earn seven first-place finishes in the Varsity division, and a further two first-place rankings in the Junior Varsity division, bringing a grand total of an unprecedented nine first place team trophies home!

Jonathan Wysolovski receiving his 2nd place Varsity award at the Woodstock High School Math Tournament, February 12, 2005.

The first place JV team at the Woodstock High School Math Tournament, February 12, 2005. Left to right: Sam Brotherton, Amy Kovac, Nayoon Kim.

One of those wins was the amazing first place finish at the Vestavia Hills Math Tournament. This tournament is well-known for being quite difficult -- the 25 multiple-choice questions are seemingly impossible to solve within one hour. Dr. Garner has been taking math teams to Vestavia since 1998, with the goal of one day winning. In December 2004, the Rockdale Magnet Math Team did just that! It was a fantastic moment shared by all the students, parents, and teachers from Rockdale Magnet who were there! (Before the tournament started that morning, senior Max Bernardy said that “If we win, then Garner should retire since this will be the best that it gets!” Garner chose to ignore those words!)

The accolades weren’t always for the team; sometimes it was for the individual. Mitch Costley earned a perfect score (and thus a first place) at the Lassiter Math Tournament in December.

At the annual joint meeting of the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America in Atlanta in January, Mitch was invited to participate in a math game show called “Who Wants to Be a Mathematician?” Mitch and seven other high school students from around the southeast were quizzed on all matters mathematical. Mitch earned second place and received a copy of Maple and $3000 cash.

The Rockdale Mathematics Competition was again scheduled for January. The team duly prepared the tests and organized everything, only for the tournament to be cancelled the day before due to weather. An ice storm was rapidly approaching, and the Superintendent of schools ordered all activities for the next day cancelled. This was the biggest math team-related disappointment of the school year.

The first place JV team at the Armstrong Atlantic State University Math Tournament on February 19, 2005. Left to right: Allyse Keel, Amy Kovac, Sam Brotherton, Nayoon Kim.

The second place Varsity team receiving a first place award at Armstrong Atlantic State University on February 19, 2005. Left to Right: Jonathan Wysolovski, Amy Lanchester, James Bascle. Salman Makhani should have been in this picture, but he was asleep in the audience.

By the Armstrong Atlantic tournament in February, the team (especially the seniors) were feeling kind of cocky. After the tournament was over, the four-person team of seniors -- designated “Team A” -- were positive that they came in first. The four-person team of juniors -- designated Team B -- were sure they did well, but did not feel quite as confident as the seniors.

During the awards ceremony, as the announcer said “... and the first place team is...”, the seniors stood up to receive their award. But the announcer continued “... Rockdale Magnet School Team B!” The seniors were very embarrassed and sat down quickly as the juniors took to the stage! (As is turned out, there was a scoring error, and the senior team did actually win, but the goof caused quite a stir amongst the students!)

When the team placed first at the Furman University tournament in March, beating top-tier schools from South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Illinois, we knew that the state championship was within our grasp.

Sure enough, on April 30, the Rockdale Magnet Math Team again won first place at the the State Math Tournament! This win was made all the more special by an invitation extended to two 9th graders, Sam Brotherton and Nayoon Kim, to come to the state tournament to try-out for ARML. Of the six students from Rockdale at the state tournament, four were asked to join the Georgia ARML team, including Sam and Nayoon! This was a great way to cap-off a fantastic math team year!

Below you will find our record of placements at the few tournaments the Math Team attended that school year. Team awards are listed first, with individual awards listed after the team member’s name.

October 23, 2004, University of Georgia Math Tournament, Athens.

4th place team: Max Bernardy. Mitch Costley, Kayla Koch, Frankie Snavely, Kevin Todd, Ben Wu, Jodie Wu, and Jonathan Wysolovski

October 30, 2004, Cobb County Invitational Math Tournament, Marietta.

11th place JV team: Melanie Allen, Sam Brotherton, Daniel Chen, Chris Elder, Allyse Keel, Thomas Polstra, Steven Rouk

10th place Varsity team: James Bascle, Mitch Costley (9th place), Justin Gilstrap, Kayla Koch, Amy Lanchester (10th place), Sophia Newton, Frankie Snavely, Kevin Todd.

November 13, 2004, Mercer University Math Tournament, Macon.

1st place team: Max Bernardy (13th place), Mitch Costley (6th place test, 4th place ciphering), Salman Makhani, Kathryn Moore, Kevin Todd, Ben Wu (5th place test, 7th place ciphering), Jodie Wu, Jonathan Wysolovski (16th place).

November 20, 2004, Milton High School Math Tournament, Alpharetta.

3rd place JV team: Melanie Allen, Sam Brotherton (9th place), Daniel Chen, Katie Dugan, Alyse Keel, Nayoon Kim (10th place), Brandi Paige (13th place), Thomas Polstra

3rd place Varsity team: John Barnett, Max Bernardy, Mitch Costley (3rd place), Kayla Koch, Amy Lanchester, Frankie Snavely, Ben Wu (2nd place), Jonathan Wysolovski (10th place).

December 4, 2004, Lassiter High School Invitational Math Tournament, Marietta.

7th place JV team: Melanie Allen, Sam Brotherton, Daniel Chen, Katie Dugan, Nayoon Kim (8th place), Brandi Paige 2nd place Varsity team: Mitch Costley (1st place), Amy Lanchester, Julie Matthews, Julie Leber, Ryan Moore, Kevin Todd, Ben Wu (5th place), Jodie Wu (12th place).

December 11, 2004, Vestavia Hills High School Math Tournament, Vestavia Hills.

11th place Algebra II team: Melanie Allen, Katie Dugan, Allyse Keel, Nayoon Kim

1st place Comprehensive team: John Barnett, James Bascle, Alicia Bellis, Max Bernardy (4th place), Joseph Bost, William Brawley, Mitch Costley (2nd place), Justin Gilstrap, Kayla Koch, Julie Matthews, Garett McLaurin, Bre’Ana Paige, Frankie Snavely, Kevin Todd, Ben Wu (1st place), Jodie Wu (12th place), Jonathan Wysolovski, Drew Yaun.

February 1, 2005, AMC.

School winner, AMC10A: Nayoon Kim.

School winner, AMC12A: Ben Wu, Jonathan Wysolovski

February 5, 2005, Georgia Southwestern State University Math Tournament, Americus.

1st place 4A team: James Bascle, Max Bernardy, Mitch Costley (1st place), Salman Makhani, Kevin Todd (4th place), Ben Wu (2nd place) , Jodie Wu, Jonathan Wysolovski (3rd place).

February 12, 2005, Woodstock High School Math Tournament, Canton.

1st place JV team: Sam Brotherton, Katie Dugan, Nayoon Kim (1st place), Amy Kovac

2nd place Varsity team: Eryn Bernardy, William Brawley, Amy Lanchester, Julie Matthews, Kathryn Moore, Sophia Newton, Frankie Snavely, Jonathan Wysolovski (2nd place).

February 16, 2005, AMC.

School winner, AMC10A: Amy Kovac

School winner, AMC12A: Mitch Costley

February 19, 2005, Armstrong Atlantic State University Math Tournament, Savannah.

1st place JV team: Sam Brotherton (2nd place), Allyse Keel, Nayoon Kim (1st place), Amy Kovac

9th place JV team: Melanie Allen, Daniel Chen, Katie Dugan, Thomas Polstra.

1st place Varsity team: Mitch Costley (4th place), Kevin Todd (7th place), Ben Wu (1st place 12th grader, 1st place Overall), Jodie Wu (7th place).

2nd place Varsity team: James Bascle, Amy Lanchester, Salman Makhani, Jonathan Wysolovski (9th place)

7th place Varsity team: Alicia Bellis, William Brawley, Garett McLaurin, Frankie Snavely

9th place Varsity team: John Barnett, Ryan Moore, Lacy Reynolds, Britt Schneider

February 26, 2005, Georgia Tech Math Competition.

2nd place JV team: Melanie Allen, Sam Brotherton (1st place test, 2nd place ciphering), Raymond Clunie, Amy Lanchester (10th place)

1st place Varsity team: James Bascle, Mitch Costley (4th place), Salman Makhani, Julie Matthews, Ryan Moore, Britt Schneider, Frankie Snavely, Kevin Todd, Jonathan Wysolovski

March 19, 2005, Furman University Math Tournament, Greenville.

1st place team: Max Bernardy, Mitch Costley, Kayla Koch, Amy Lanchester, Kevin Todd, Ben Wu (1st place), Jodie Wu, Jonathan Wysolovski.

April 16, 2005, Junior Varsity State Math Tournament, College Park.

3rd place team: Melanie Allen, Sam Brotherton (8th place), Daniel Chen, Katie Dugan, Allyse Keel, Nayoon Kim, Amy Kovac, Amy Lanchester (14th place and Dwight W. Love Award winner).

April 30, 2005, GCTM Varsity State Math Tournament, Fayetteville.

1st place team: Max Bernardy, Mitch Costley (4th place), Ben Wu (6th place), Jonathan Wysolovski (14th place).