MathCounts team 'beyond their years'

Last Saturday, the Thermopolis Middle School MathCounts team of eighth-graders Josiah Butler and Jacob Randall and seventh-graders Owen McCumber and Lexi Overfield competed at the state competition.

Coach Stephanie Metz said the students did well at the competition, but did not have their exact placing as only the teams in the top five percent are recorded. However, in terms of individual achievement, Butler placed among the top 25 percent of students. This was the third year Butler has competed in MathCounts, but the first year he’s done it as a team member.

The students have been practicing since October, Metz said, coming in Friday mornings on their own time. The math they do at practice is amazing, she added, and the problems the students are doing are “well beyond their years.”

Metz said she is very proud of the students and can’t wait to see what the future has for them. With the seventh-graders returning next year, she said there’s a good chance they will return to state.