MATH TEAM 2011

Our Tenth Anniversary

CAPTAIN
KSENIA ZAKIROVA (ARML, Mu Alpha Theta Vice-President, Calculus MVP, State team member, Math Team scholarship winner)

VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS

Gedeion Addisu

Uchenna Anunobi (Mu Alpha Theta President)

Carmen Candal

Johnathan Davis

Jacob Dollar

Cameron Easley (GHP, State team member)

Vander Harris

Julian Hinds Heeyoon Kim (ARML, Varsity MVP, State team member)

Gabe Kustick (Precalculus MVP)

Jasen Lauritsen

Faustine Li (Advanced Math MVP, State team member)

Stein Lobo

Neal Patel

Kaleb Ponder

Anika Reza

Anna Grace Slifko

Andrew Smith

Jalem Towler

Preston Turner

JUNIOR VARSITY TEAM MEMBERS

Abenet Addisu

Ishmael Ahmed

Indi Brown

Rob Bruton

Briana Cowles

Chris Dasilva

Nathan Firkus

Ray Garner (Math II MVP)

Jahvan Innerarity

Jasmine Johnson

Alex Mann

Jason Mitchell

Clare Morganelli

Sheldon Neal

Jeremy Rachels (ARML, Math I MVP)

Brian Silva

Lamisa Syed

Lindsey Theodore

Andrew Wilzman (Precalculus MVP)

Zach York Michelle Zhang

The 2010-2011 school year marks the tenth year of the Rockdale Magnet Math Team, and what a year it was! The few seniors we had on the team were consistently brilliant, while the juniors and the sophomores really stepped up! The few ninth-graders on the team were motivated and show great promise for next year. It was a good anniversary year.

Our captain, Ksenia Zakirova, started the year off with a new idea: to offer Mathematics Seminars every other Wednesday afternoon. The seminars were open to all students (not just Math Team members). Topics varied and were enthusiastically delivered by Ksenia. Unfortunately, attendance fell off as the year progressed, but those that did attend found them valuable indeed.

If you look at our record of tournaments below, you will notice a surprising absence. We did not attend the Mercer University tournament this year, because our own Rockdale tournament was scheduled for the same day! This year’s Rockdale Math Competition went very well. We had so many alumni volunteers that we did not need faculty or parent assistance for the first time this year! This year we also offered RMC T-shirts for the first time to the volunteers and the team winners of the competition.

It took a while for the Math Team to find its competitive spirit this year. Throughout first semester, they didn’t seem on top of things. Eventually, they did regain that edge, and it started with the trip to the Vestavia Hills High School tournament in Alabama. Unfortunately, I don’t remember what happened there since we crossed the state line. (That’s an in-joke, by the way.)

Beginning second semester, the team was back on top! The JV team made its mark first at the Creekview High School tournament. Zach York led the team to victory (and stole the most cookies).

The Varsity team made its mark the following weekend at the Georgia Tech Tournament. While the top scorers--including Ksenia--were busy in the proof round, the other Varsity team members (Cameron, Heeyoon, Faustine, and Gabe) participated in the team ciphering round, where they won first place! Ksenia also earned her first individual trophy for writing elegant proofs!

Then the first weekend of March brought two victories at tow different tournaments! The Sequoyah High School tournament and the Armstrong Atlantic State University Tournament were on the same day. Ms. Smalls volunteered to take the JV team to Sequoyah, while Dr. Garner took the Varsity team to Savannah. Jeremy Rachels, a ninth-grader on the team won first place at Sequoyah, and the Varsity team won second at AASU.

The second place team at the Armstrong Atlantic State University Math Tournament, March 5, 2011. Left to right: Cameron Easley, Heeyoon Kim, Ksenia Zakirova, Faustine Li.

The third weekend in March was a math-filled weekend: Friday the 18th was a tournament at Macon State College, and Saturday the 19th was the Greater Atlanta Christian School tournament. At Macon State, both JV and Varsity earned the first place team award and the first place individual awards. This was our first time attending the Macon State College tournament, and we all agreed that we would be back next year!

The third place Varsity team and the fifth place JV team from the Greater Atlanta Christian School Math Tournament, March 19, 2011. Left to right, front row: Gedeion Addisu, Uchenna Anunobi, Anna Grace Slifko, Jahvan Innerarity, Heeyoon Kim, Johnathan Davis, Anika Reza, Faustine Li. Left to right, back row: Jasen Lauritsen, Kaleb Ponder, Indi Brown, Jason Mitchell, Andrew Smith, Julian Hinds (behind Anna Grace), Dr Garner, Chris Dasilva, Jahvan Innerarity, Ray Garner, Zach Tork, Gabe Kustick, Sheldon Neal, Ksenia Zakirova, Rob Bruton, and Ansley Kaiser. Not pictured: Jalem Towler (who took the photo) and Stein Lobo (who pretended to take a photo with his calculator).

The JV State Tournament was a success this year. For the first time since 2006, the team finished in the top 5, earning 3rd place. The group that put us over the top was the Relay team of Andrew Wilzman, Heeyoon Kim, Jason Mitchell, and Brian Silva. This group got two of the three Relays correct before any other team, giving us maximum points. For the third relay, they were the second team to submit a correct answer. So even though Andrew did the first problem the wrong but still somehow managed to get the correct answer, and even though Brian did the last problem without any answers from the others, they shocked everyone with their speed and know-how!

The Varsity State Tournament was another success, with the Math Team once again earning 4A champs for the eighth time in our short ten-year existence. Especially wonderful was that Ksenia received the Steve Sigur Award, for the most improved performance. (See the Math Team 2008 page for more on Steve.)

Two Math Team alumni contributed greatly to the Math Team year: Kevin Todd and Drew Yaun. Successful business owners, they wanted to give back to the Math Team. They did so in two ways. First was they bought 60 dozen doughnuts to give out at the Rockdale Math Competition this year. Second, they inaugurated a Math Team Scholarship. The scholarship, in the amount of a $1500 cash prize, was awarded to Ksenia this year at the Magnet Banquet. They intend to continued awarding the same amount to another deserving Math Team senior next year. Big thanks go out to Kevin and Drew!

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

September 25, 2010, North Fulton Invitational, Alpharetta.

5th place JV team: Nathan Firkus, Ray Garner, Jasmine Johnson, Alex Mann, Jason Mitchell, Jeremy Rachels, Andrew Wilzman, Michelle Zhang.

8th place Varsity team: Gedeion Addisu, Heeyoon Kim, Gabe Kustick, Jasen Lauritsen, Faustine Li, Anika Reza, Anna Grace Slifko, Ksenia Zakirova.

October 2, 2010, University of Georgia Mathematics Tournament, Athens.

35th place team: Gedeion Addisu, Jacob Dollar, Cameron Easley, Julian Hinds, Heeyoon Kim, Gabe Kustick, Jasen Lauritsen, Stein Lobo, Lauren Reagin, Anika Reza, Jalem Towler, Preston Turner.

December 4, 2010, Lassiter High School Invitational Math Tournament, Marietta.

8th place JV team: Abenet Addisu, Briana Cowles, Ray Garner, Jason Mitchell, Clare Morganelli, Brian Silva, Andrew Wilzman, Zach York, Michelle Zhang.

10th place Varsity team: Heeyoon Kim, Gabe Kustick, Faustine Li, Kaleb Ponder, Anika Reza, Anna Grace Slifko, Andrew Smith, Ksenia Zakirova.

December 11, 2010, Vestavia Hills High School Mathematics Competition, Vestavia Hills.

17th place Comprehensive team: Jacob Dollar, Faustine Li, Andrew Wilzman, Ksenia Zakirova.

February 8, 2011, AMC

School winner, AMC10A: Heeyoon Kim

School winner, AMC12A: Ksenia Zakirova

February 12, 2011, Creekview High School’s Saint Valentine’s Day Mathacre, Canton.

9th place Varsity team: Carmen Candal, Gabe Kustick, Faustine Li, Stein Lobo, Ksenia Zakirova

3rd place JV team: Nathan Firkus, Ray Garner, Jasmine Johnson, Alex Mann, Jason Mitchell, Lindsey Theodore, Zach York (7th place).

February 19, 2011, Georgia Tech High School Math Competition, Atlanta.

9th place Varsity team, 1st place Team Ciphering: Cameron Easley, Heeyoon Kim, Gabe Kustick, Faustine Li, Ksenia Zakirova (10th place). 12th place JV team: Ray Garner, Jasmine Johnson, Jason Mitchell, Jeremy Rachels, Brian Silva, Andrew Wilzman, Michelle Zhang.

February 23, 2011, AMC

School winner, AMC10B: Jason Mitchell

School winner, AMC12B: Heeyoon Kim

March 4, 2011, Sequoyah High School Math Tournament, Canton.

4th place JV team: Ray Garner, Jeremy Rachels (1st place), Michelle Zhang.

5th place Varsity team: Jasmine Johnson, Alex Mann, Jason Mitchell, Brian Silva, Lindsey Theodore, Andrew Wilzman.

March 4, 2011, Armstrong Atlantic State University Mathematics Tournament, Savannah.

2nd place team: Cameron Easley, Heeyoon Kim, Faustine Li, Ksenia Zakirova (9th place). 7th place team: Gedeion Addisu, Jasen Lauritsen, Neal Patel, Anika Reza. 11th place team: Gabe Kustick, Stein Lobo, Kaleb Ponder, Anna Grace Slifko.

March 18, 2011, Macon State College Math Olympics, Macon.

1st place JV team: Jasmine Johnson, Jason Mitchell, Andrew Wilzman (2nd place), Zach York (1st place).

1st place Varsity team: Gedeion Addisu, Cameron Easley, Vander Harris, Julian Hinds, Heeyoon Kim (3rd place), Jasen Lauritsen, Faustine Li (1st place), Stein Lobo, Anika Reza, Anna Grace Slifko, Andrew Smith, Ksenia Zakirova (2nd place).

March 19, 2011, Greater Atlanta Christian School’s Dwight Love Math Tournament, Norcross.

5th place JV team: Ishmael Ahmad, Indi Brown, Rob Bruton, Chris Dasilva, Ray Garner, Jahvan Innerarity, Ansley Kaiser, Jason Mitchell (14th place), Sheldon Neal, Zach York.

3rd place Varsity team: Gedeion Addisu, Uchenna Anunobi, Johnathan Davis, Julian Hinds, Heeyoon Kim (10th place), Gabe Kustick, Jasen Lauritsen, Faustine Li, Stein Lobo, Kaleb Ponder, Anika Reza, Anna Grace Slifko, Andrew Smith, Jalem Towler, Ksenia Zakirova.

March 26, 2011, Junior Varsity State Math Tournament, Marietta.

1st place AAAA team, 3rd overall: Ray Garner, Jasmine Johnson, Heeyoon Kim, Jason Mitchell, Brian Silva, Lindsey Theodore, Andrew Wilzman, Zach York.

April 15, 2011, Georgia Southwestern State University Mathematics Tournament, Americus.

1st place team: Carmen Candal, Heeyoon Kim (1st place), Faustine Li (3rd place), Anna Grace Slifko, Andrew Smith, Preston Turner (6th place), Ksenia Zakirova (2nd place).

April 16, 2011, Newton County High School/Oxford College Math Fest, Oxford.

1st place JV team: Ray Garner, Heeyoon Kim (1st place), Jason Mitchell (2nd place), Jeremy Rachels

1st place Varsity team: Faustine Li (1st place), Stein Lobo, Anika Reza, Ksenia Zakirova (2nd place).

April 30, 2011, GCTM State Mathematics Tournament, Macon.

7th place team overall and AAAA Champions: Cameron Easley, Heeyoon Kim, Faustine Li, Ksenia Zakirova (Steve Sigur Award Winner).