A recent national math competition ended extremely well for several students at Sampson Middle School.

A total of 12 middle-schoolers attended the National Regional Math Fest Competition in Atlanta a few weeks back, with two of them placing in the contest. One finished in the second spot for sixth graders and one in third as an eighth grade competitor. First year participant Trace Glover took the sixth grade honor and veteran Leah Zeng received honors for the eighth grade.

Zeng won the competition in seventh-grade last year.

Sampson assistant principal Jennifer Hill expressed how proud everyone was to have two local students place so well in a national competition. “We are just so very proud of how excellent all our students did,” she said.

“It is amazing to see how all the hard work our teachers have put into our students has paid off having these representatives do so well. The students need to be congratulated, too, for their focus and hard work preparing and participating in the contest,” stated the assistant administrator. “I feel our teachers are doing a great job getting our students where they need to be academically.”

The contest took place in the Georgia-Atlanta World Congress Arena with five states represented in the region. It is referred to as a national competition since this is the highest level the students can achieve. The process began at the school level. Sampson Middle AIG teacher Amanda Byrd explained that any student with an A or B average, or with a teacher recommendation, could be eligible to participate in the school math fest. Students eligible to move on to the state level competed in the Greensboro Coliseum back in February.

“The school competition was simply a mock math fest,” shared Byrd. “We had 20 students to qualify to go to Greensboro and 12 of those finished in the top 10 percent and were eligible to go to the national regional in Atlanta.”

Glover remarked that he felt the school competition was the most difficult. “The school fest was harder but the distractions of so many people and the way the regional contest was done made it hard to concentrate. I felt it was a good opportunity for me and I learned a little about how it may be to compete for college with my peers. We were able to do a lot of different things while we were there and it was a great experience,” said the sixth grader. Glover is the son of Delton and Laura Glover of Clinton.

For Zeng, this was a repeat of sorts, since she competed in last year’s contest and brought home the first place honor.

“This year’s competition was different from the one last year. It was loud and the competition was harder to follow, but it was a good experience. Mrs. Byrd did a great job making the entire trip an enjoyable experience, Zeng said. She is the daughter of Ricky and Georgina Zeng of Clinton.

While in Atlanta, the students were given the opportunity to visit the aquarium, tour CNN and the World of Coke. Both students expressed that the tours were very education and fun while helping to alleviate some of the stress from the contest.

The student attending the regional contest were sixth graders, Trace Glover, Jackson Glover, Astrid Chavarria; seventh graders, Zoey Harris, Kensley Sutton, Bailey Spell and Lucinda Neegron; and eighth graders, Leah Zeng, Grace Reagan, Monica Odeh, Aaron Viser and Kali Cole.

To contact Billy Todd, call 910-592-8137 ext. 117 or e-mail siobits@heartlandpublications.com.