NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

11/08/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-Seven area high schools competed in the second annual Demon Math Classic held recently at Northwestern State University.

Competing schools were Bolton High School, who brought senior and junior teams; Florien High School, Montgomery High School, Negreet High School, Opelousas High School, Rapides High School and Ville Platte High School.

Students competed in two categories, the Challenge Exam and Team Competition. The Challenge Exam included a written exam covering Algebra I and II, geometry and pre-calculus. Team competition was presented in a pure math form of quiz bowl in which four-member teams answered questions from basic arithmetic, Algebra I and II and geometry.

"The Challenge Exam results were really tight," said Assistant Professor of Mathematics Elizabeth Cole. "Two points separated first, second and third place."

First place winner in the Challenge Exam was Jeremy James from Montgomery High School. James received a JOVE scholarship worth $500 per semester to attend NSU and major in math, chemistry, physics or pre-engineering; a TI Voyage 200 calculator worth $200, a trophy provided by Sabine State Bank, a sweatshirt from the NSU bookstore and a $50 gift certificate for a math book from Campus Corner.

Second and third place winners were Neelam Shah from Bolton High School and Jacob Matherne from Ville Platte High School. Each received a JOVE scholarship worth $500 per semester to attend NSU and major in math, chemistry, physics or pre-engineering; a TI 89 titanium calculator worth $150 and a trophy provided by Sabine State Bank.

"The team competition was exciting," Cole said. "The teams battled through six rounds of competition. The game between the second and third place winners was decided by a mere five points and came down to one bonus question difference."

Bolton High School seniors won first place. They received gold medals, a plaque and the champions trophy, all provided by Sabine State Bank. For second place, Montgomery High School participants received silver medals and a plaque. For third place, Bolton High School juniors received bronze medals and a plaque.

Outstanding participants were selected for the All-Star Math Bowl Team based on outstanding contribution to their team during competition. They were Neelah Shah and Vincent Turregano from Bolton High School, Jeremy James from Montgomery High School, La'Porchia Collins of Opelousas High School, Jeremy Campbell from Rapides High School and Jacob Matherne from Ville Platte High School. Winners received a medal provided by Sabine State Bank.

Sponsors for the event were Sabine State Bank, Addison Wesley Longman Publishing, Texas Instruments, NSU Bookstore and Campus Corner. Other supporters were students from the Family and Consumer Science Department and instructor Connie Jones, the Department of Mathematics, NSU Press, NSU Print Shop and NSU Recruiting.

The next Demon Math Competition will be held in October 2005. For more information, visit http://scitech.nsula.edu/Mathematics/Demonmathclassic/.

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