February 2, 2023 - Livermore, CA -  The Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District (LVJUSD) hosted its 27th annual Livermore MathCounts Competition on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at Granada High School. 127 middle school mathletes from Christensen Middle School, East Avenue Middle School, Joe Michell TK-8 School, Junction Avenue TK-8 School and Mendenhall Middle School competed in a number of individual and team challenges. “Our MathCounts program continues to grow. This year, we were excited to see a nearly 30% increase in the number of participants. While it is not a requirement that students join a MathCounts club at their school to participate in the competition, the majority of students do. I believe our growth can be largely attributed to the challenge and enjoyment students gain from interacting with their MathCounts peers and advisors,” shared Robyn Schlichter, math teacher and MathCounts Coordinator.

Competition questions were derived from sixth through eighth grade math concepts and standards, and are designed so that even the most advanced students were challenged. Individual awards were given to the top five mathletes from the sixth grade division and the top ten mathletes from the combined 7th/8th grade division. Team awards were given to the top three teams from each division. Highlighted below are the top five individual finalists from each division:

Top five finalists for the grade 6 division included:

• Eugene Baker, 1st place, Christensen 

• Minh-Ky Kawamura, 2nd place, East Avenue

• Isabela Jerosin Raja, 3rd place, Mendenhall

• Jack Bonner, 4th place, Christensen

• Andrew Liu, 5th place, Christensen

Top five finalists for the grades 7-8 division included:

• Ananya Garg, 1st place, Mendenhall

• Abe Narayan, 2nd place, Joe Michell

• Avaneesh Karthik, 3rd place, Mendenhall

• Kevin Chang, 4th place, Mendenhall

• Steven Huang, 5th place, Mendenhall

Each middle school facilitates their own MathCounts program as either a before school or after school club. Teachers and volunteers work weekly with students to solve challenging math equations using resources from the MathCounts.org website. “MathCounts provides students with an opportunity to build and develop their collaboration, problem-solving, and relationship-building skills while increasing their knowledge and confidence in math. These skills translate far beyond the competition itself in preparing our students for their high school and post-graduate pursuits,” expressed Jason Krolikowski, Director of Secondary Education. 

Community members who may be interested in volunteering with LVJUSD’s MathCounts program can contact Robyn Schlicter at rschlicter@lvjusd.org for more information.

Photos courtesy of Kyle Dickerson and LVJUSD:

Photo #1: Top five finalists from grade 7-8 division: Ananya Garg, 1st place, Mendenhall; Abe Narayan, 2nd place, Joe Michell; Avaneesh Karthik, 3rd place, Mendenhall, Kevin Chang, 4th place, Mendenhall; Steven Huang, 5th place, Mendenhall  

Photo #2: Top five finalists from grade 6 division: Eugene Baker, 1st place, Christensen; Minh-Ky Kawamura, 2nd place, East Avenue; Isabela Jerosin Raja, 3rd place, Mendenhall; Jack Bonner, 4th place, Christensen; Andrew Liu, 5th place, Christensen

Photo #3: Ananya Garg and Abe Narayan battle in the final round for first and second place in the grades 7-8 division.