The MATHCOUNTS® Lehigh Valley Regional Competition was recently held at Emmaus High School on Saturday, February 4, 2023, marking the first time the competition has been held in person since before the pandemic. MATHCOUNTS is a national math coaching and competition program for students in grades 6 through 8 that has reached millions of students in its 40-year history, aiming to promote interest and skills in math by making it as challenging, exciting, and prestigious as similar achievements in sports.
Now in its 39th year, beginning just one year after the national program’s inception, the 2023 Lehigh Valley MATHCOUNTS Competition brought together more than 120 students from 17 schools across Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, and Monroe counties. The students take part in multiple competitions including an individual sprint round; a target round; a team round; and finally, the countdown round with a tournament-style single elimination for the top 10 individuals.
The annual competition is organized by the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE) and is made possible with the support of many coaches, volunteers, parents, and supporters. Isett has helped to organize the Lehigh Valley competition for well over two decades, because we recognize the importance of mathematics in our society and welcome the opportunity to help our region’s youth understand the importance and get excited about it. Isett’s team members contributing to the event this year included Kevin Campbell, Chris Williams, Charley Myers, Andrea Martin, Tracy Torres, Dan Wilusz, Gina Bongiovanni, Vicki Adams, and Mike Keller.
The top 6th grade individual score, top 7th grade individual score, and seven of the top 10 top individual scores – including the top four scores – were from students at Springhouse Middle School. Rounding out the other top individual scores were students from Nitschmann Middle School and Orefield Middle School. Additional honors went to students from St. Jane Frances de Chantal School, St. John Chrysostom Academy, and an honorable mention for Clear Run Intermediate School.
The winning team, four top-ranked individuals, and two top-ranked individuals that are not members of the winning team advance to the state competition in Harrisburg on March 17 & 18, and the top students from Pennsylvania will compete for national honors in Orlando, Florida, on May 14 & 15.