WAKARUSA —
Dozens of young people arrived at Wakarusa Elementary on April 28, ready to fine tune their math skills in a competitive environment during the annual Math Pentathlon.
The pentathlon is designed to combine the principles and challenges of solving mathematical equations with the atmosphere and inspiration of playing board games. Several years ago, there was a countywide version of the event, but dwindling registrations from other communities led Wakarusa to create its own tournament, allowing interested students from grades second through fifth to sign on.
Wakarusa Elementary teachers Audrey Leatherman and Kelly Schmidt have been working with the second- and third-grade participants, while Ann Sauceda and Justine Crilow have been preparing the fourth- and fifth-grade contestants. This year’s pentathlon is unique in that this marked the first year that second- and third-graders could sign up.
The series of games that the younger kids tackled included Par 55, Sums Dominoes and Dice, Quatro-Sinko, FIAR and Ramrod. The older children honed their talents among a quintet of games known as Contig 60, Queens and Guards, Juggle, Fab-a-Diffy and Stars and Bars.
“The students have been learning these games throughout the school year in their math classes,” Leatherman said. “All students had the opportunity to join the Math Pentathlon after-school group to learn the tournament rules and review all five games. We have been practicing for the past month and a half after school, and we are ready for our competition.”
Leatherman also noted that interest in the local contest has continually increased in recent years, with efforts coming forth from both students and adults alike. “Since we’ve been able to organize and hold our own tournament here at Wakarusa, it has worked out very well,” she said. “We appreciate all the parent volunteers. Without them, we would not be able to have our own competition.”
Medals and certificates of merit were distributed to those who achieved certain measures of scoring. For the older students, levels of award status included honorable mention, bronze, silver, gold, and Hall of Fame Gold Medalist, with the latter bestowed upon those who ended with perfect scores.
For the younger players, possible award outcomes included honorable mention, along with third, second, and first place. The list of winners is as follows:
Second Grade
Honorable mention: Brenna Edwards, Tanner Hostetler, Chloe Cronkright, Noah Blosser, Faith Brown, Nicholas Pressler, Emma Hampel, Seth Homes and Madison Laskowski.
Third place: Katie Batson.
Second place: Wesley Steiner, Wesley Gay and Isaac Benjamin.
First place: Brady Hunsberger, Annika Bennett, Julia Wingard and Brady Chupp. (Evelyn Gerber participated in the study sessions, but was unable to attend the competition.)
Third Grade
Honorable mention: Nick Jones, Zac Gonzalez, Kennady Lehman and Alex Walker.
Third place: Sarah Homes, Cameron Birk, Derek Hochstedler, Cameron Iwema, Andrew Graber, Jacquelynn Miller and Kyle Sellers.
Second place: Chris Weldy.
First Place: Ryan Blosser. (Will Metzger was a member of the study sessions who was not able to compete.)
Fourth Grade
Honorable Mention: Alan Snyder, Jessica Kramp, Katelyn Rulli, Sarena Gerber, Alex Jesse and Tyler Cronkright.
Bronze: Chase Horner and Trent Edwards.
Silver: Hannah Eberle.
Hall of Fame Gold Medalists: Quinten Hunsberger and Laura Eby. (Ethan Ramer was absent, but was involved in the study group.)
Fifth Grade
Honorable Mention: Grace Seals, Jared Weaver, Kenneth Schlatter, Hayden Snider and Garrett Weldy.
Bronze: Hannah Brubaker, Landon Parker and Sierra Cross.
Silver: Ryleigh Johnson, Sean Hogan, Jason McNeil, Kira Robinson, Kelcie Tillotson and Travis Royster.
Gold: Dawson Maugel, Sarah Eberle and Luke Lingle.
Hall of Fame Gold Medalist: Braden Mikel.
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Related Photos
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A trio of fourth and fifth grade students at Wakarusa Elementary School achieved a perfect score of 9 points, naming them Hall of Fame Gold Medalists: Laura Eby, Braden Mikel, and Quinten Hunsberger. PHOTO CONTRIBUTED
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