MATHCOUNTS Congratulations!

I am delighted to share the exciting news that two Albany Area Math Circle members placed among the top four individuals at last week's New York State MATHCOUNTS championship contest, earning the right to represent our state at the National MATHCOUNTS Competition in Orlando Florida in May.  David Li from Utica was the New York State champion and Rowechen Zhong from Iroquois was the fourth highest scoring individual, and his school team (pictured below) was second place in the state.

Iroquois Middle School team
Steve Schmidt (coach), Stephanie Vernooy (coach),
Harini Prabaharan, Jeffrey Huang, Christine Lee, Sarah Vernooy, Rowechen Zhong

Congratulations to the entire Iroquois Middle School's team and coaches for their outstanding second place finish at the state contest last weekend.  Veteran head coach Professor Steve Schmidt is my colleague in the economics department at Union College as well as the husband of AAMC advisor Ms. Alexandra Schmidt. Steve headed a strong coaching team that included Professor Stephanie Vernooy (from Siena College's Biology Department) and AAMC student coaches Gabriel Kammer and Ian Vernooy.  AAMC alumni Gideon Schmidt and Patrick Chi served as student coaches in prior years helping veterans on the Iroquois team build a firm foundation in their earlier years of middle school, as did prior adult coach Ambady Suresh.

Professor Schmidt will coach the New York State team at the National MATHCOUNTS Competition in May and will accompany David, Rowechen, and their two teammates to Orlando.

Congratulations again and best wishes to all!