Luverne High School math league members returned to the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League Tournament Monday. It was the second straight year a Luverne team advanced beyond the regular season
Luverne went up against 11 other teams, placing eighth, one placing better than last year.
Adviser Aaron Perkins said this year’s competition was a close one.
“Everyone was within 10 points (of each other) with the exemption of the bottom, which were within 15 points,” he said.
The team competed at the in-person state event at South Saint Paul High School.
State team participants included seniors Olivia Huisman, Kristin Rud, Hope Thorson, Ethan Rahm, Trygve Gangestad, juniors Parker Carbonneau, Anja Jarchow, Logan Ommen, and eighth-graders Ella Hoogendorn and Jaydon Johnson.
At the state meet students competed in two written tests and one team event.
Teams answered as many of the 24 questions as they could in 12 minutes (many without the use of a calculator) in the four topics of algebra, geometry, trigonometry and precalculus.
Adviser Perkins said the 2022 season matched last year’s performance, when LHS returned to the state meet for the first time since 2009.
“This year we won our division and were runners-up (to Blue Earth Area) in the section,” he said. “We are currently ranked seventh in the Division A in the state.”
Division A consists of 54 schools, where Luverne competes in the Dynamic South Division. LHS had 56 students score this year for the team.
“All participants scored a total of 614 points (over five rounds), which is an average of 13 points per student,” Perkins said. “Our top 15 all scored over 20 points for the season.”