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| State MATHCOUNTS Champions: Honey Creek Middle
School of Terre Haute won this year's Indiana MATHCOUNTS title at
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Team members were (from left)
Coach Robert Fischer, Raj Bhuptani, Nathan Benjamin, David Benjamin
and Pardha Ponugoti. |
Honey Creek Middle School
Wins State MATHCOUNTS Title
Mathematics scholars from Honey Creek Middle School of Terre
Haute swept top team and individual honors in this year’s Indiana
MATHCOUNTS Competition on Saturday at Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology. A total of 153 middle and junior high school students
from 41 schools throughout Indiana participated in the contest.
Posting the top
three individual place finishers, Honey Creek won the team championship
over second-placed West Lafayette Junior High School; Clay Middle School
of Carmel, which was third; The Sycamore School of Indianapolis, fourth;
Klondike Middle School of Lafayette, fifth; and Wilbur Wright Middle
School of Munster, sixth.
Honey Creek students posted the top three individual scores. A
perfect 46-point score gave eighth grader Pardha Ponugoti the individual
state title. He was followed closely by David Benjamin, who placed
second with a 45-point score; and Honey Creek seventh grader Nathan
Benjamin, who finished third. Nathan Benjamin took home top honors
in the Countdown Round, a game show-type competition that tests quick
problem-solving skills.
Overall, Honey Creek had eight of the top 12 individual place finishers
in the contest, which tested students’ abilities to solve mathematics
equations and complex story problems. There was also a team round
that had four students working together to solve problems.
Yixin Wang, an eighth grader from West Lafayette Junior High School,
placed fourth. He will join the top three Honey Creek students in
making up the Indiana MATHCOUNTS team that competes in the national
competition on May 5-8 in Detroit, Mich. The team will be coached
by Honey Creek math teacher Robert Fischer.
Rounding out the top 10 individual finishers were Phillip Thomas of
Lafayette’s Klondike Middle School, fifth; John Ryan, Raj Bhuptani and
Nolan Skochdopole, all of Honey Creek, which placed sixth, seventh and
eighth, respectively; Zoe Masters of West Lafayette, ninth; and Sachin
Shinde of Honey Creek, 10th.
MATHCOUNTS is
one of the country’s largest and most successful educational
partnerships. It promotes middle school mathematics achievement through
grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. The Indiana
MATHCOUNTS contest is organized by the Indiana Society of Professional
Engineers. State coordinators are Pat Behrens and Gary Staats. The state
contest is coordinated by Rose-Hulman Mathematics Professor Elton
Graves. He is assisted by Professor Bill Eccles and Terre Haute Engineer
Denis Radecki.
Ponugoti and
Masters received $10,000 scholarships from Rose-Hulman for being the top
male and female finishers. Purdue University’s College of
Engineering and School of Science awarded full tuition and fee
scholarships to the top 10 individual scorers.
 |
| Indiana's MATHCOUNTS Team: Representing
Indiana at the upcoming National MATHCOUNTS Competition (May 5-8 in
Detroit) will be (from left) Coach Robert Fischer of Honey Creek
Middle School, Terre Haute; Nathan Benjamin of Honey Creek; Yixin
Wang of West Lafayette Junior High School; David Benjamin of Honey
Creek; and Pardha Ponugoti of Honey Creek. |
Indiana MATHCOUNTS Results
at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
March 5, 2005
Team Results (Scores Not
Released): 1. Honey Creek Middle School, Terre Haute; 2. West
Lafayette Junior High School; 3. Clay Middle School, Carmel; 4. Sycamore
School, Indianapolis; 5. Klondike Middle School, Lafayette; 6. Wilbur
Wright Middle School, Munster; 7. Schmucker Middle School, South Bend;
8. Heritage Middle School, South Bend; 9. East Tippecanoe Middle School,
Lafayette; 10. Joseph Tuttle Middle School, Crawfordsville; 11.
Canterburgy School, Fort Wayne; 12. Discovery Middle School, Granger;
13. Northside Middle School, Columbus; 14. Stanley Clark School,
Whiting; 15. Fishers Junior High School; 16. Orchard School,
Indianapolis; 17. Seymour Middle School; 18. Park Tudor Middle School,
Indianapolis; 19. Hamilton Southeastern Junior High School, Fishers; 20.
Kahler Middle School, Dyer; 21. Bellmont Middle School, Decatur; 22.
Carmel Middle School; 23. Bremen Middle School; 24. Otter Creek Middle
School, Terre Haute; 25. Heritage Christian School, Indianapolis; 26.
Tecumseh Middle School, Lafayette; 27. Dennis Discovery Middle School,
Richmond; 28. Creekside Middle School, Franklin; 29. Saint Vincent
DePaul School, Bedford; 30. Central Middle School, Columbus; 31.
Alexandria Middle School; 32. Castle Junior High School, Newburgh.
Top 16 Individuals (Scores Not Released): 1. Pardha
Ponugoti, Honey Creek Middle School; 2. David Benjamin, Honey Creek; 3.
Nathan Benjamin, Honey Creek; 4. Yixin Wang, West Lafayette Junior High
School; 5. Phillip Thomas, Klondike Middle School; 6. John Ryan, Honey
Creek; 7. Raj Bhuptani, Honey Creek; 8. Nolan Skochdopole, Honey Creek;
9. Zoe Masters, West Lafayette; 10. Sachin Shinde, Honey Creek; 11.
Corey Bennett, Sycamore School; 12. Kristina Throne, Honey Creek; 13.
Kevin Barlow, East Tippecanoe Middle School; 14. Jon Nakahima, West
Lafayette; 15. Axel Glaubitz, West Lafayette; 16. Robin Jiang, Wilbur
Wright Middle School
Top Countdown Round Finishers: 1.
Nathan Benjamin, Honey Creek, Terre Hautte; 2. Pardha Ponugoti, Honey
Creek Middle School, Terre Haute
Team Representing Indiana At MATHCOUNTS
Nationals May 6-9 In Washington, D.C.: 1. Pardha Ponugoti, Honey
Creek Middle School; 2. David Benjamin, Honey Creek; 3. Nathan Benjamin,
Honey Creek; 4. Yixin Wang, West Lafayette Junior High School.
Scholarship Recipients:
* $10,000 annual Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Scholarships: Pardha Ponugoti, Honey Creek Middle School (top individual
male); Zoe Masters, West Lafayette Junior High School, West Lafayette
(top individual female)
* Full tuition and fee scholarships to Purdue University for the top 10
individual scorers. |
