Adding It Up at Year’s End

by Kimberly Van Uden Math Department Chair

If math teachers selected a Dandy Dozen, the competition would be fierce. Prep has a tradition of excelling in Mathematics. Each year, math teams compete at the Mississippi School for Math and Science, the Mississippi College Science and Mathematics Tournament, the MAIS district and state tournaments, the Mu Alpha Theta State Convention, ALA-LA-MISS (three state series of tests), and the AMC-10 and -12 (national tests).

For the 2023-24 year, these students are mathletes to watch:

8th graders ALICE MOORE and ANDERSON PAYNE. Both competed in the MATHCOUNTS competition and MAIS district and state tournament in 2023. Anderson says math runs in his family and proudly introduced his grandmother, a former math teacher, to the MATHCOUNTS team. Alice is as fierce a competitor in mathematics as she is on the soccer field.

9th grade twins ADRIANNA and BRIANNA WANG are a dynamic duo. During the year, they ranked in the top ten ALA-LAMISS leaderboard ahead of most sophomores, juniors, and seniors. In spring, Adrianna advanced from district to state and represented MS at the National MATHCOUNTS competition in Orlando. Math is not their only passion; they’re often spotted in their neighborhood garden or in the pool where they swim competitively.

10th grader JACK VOYLES was discovered at the State MATHCOUNTS competition in 2022. In an attempt to find an academic environment where he could compete, he transferred to Prep as a freshman and enrolled in the sophomore-level Honors Algebra 2 class. In ALA-LA-MISS, he quickly moved to the top of the field where he finished in first place. AMRRAN AKLILU won first at the Mississippi School for Math and Science Algebra 1 competition and fifth in the Geometry competition at the Mu Alpha Theta state convention. She consistently maintains over a 100 average in Geometry.

11th grader NICHOLS KATSABOULAS transferred to Prep after learning about the MATHCOUNTS program and the opportunity to compete. He has definitely achieved a special spot on our team.

12th graders WILLIAM SHEPHERD and LYTLE MOORE have proven to be strong mathletes over the years. Watching them enter senior year will be exciting. William ended 2023 as the second ALA-LA-MISS leader. Both young men competed in the Mu Alpha Theta state convention. William placed second on the College Algebra written test, and Lytle placed 7th on Precalculus.

Sisters CAROLINE HAMMACK (10th grade) and RACHEL HAMMACK (12th grade) could not be more different unless you are comparing their love for math. Caroline scored one of the highest grades on the entrance exam, and Rachel earned the Honors Precalculus award. Rachel competed at Mississippi School for Math and Science where she placed in the top ten and 5th in the state at Mu Alpha Theta on the College Algebra written exam. Rachel plays softball, and Caroline volleyball.