Viator students medal at state math contest

Saint Viator students brought home state medal hardware after their first trip to the state Math Contest, sponsored by the Illinois Mathematics League. They gathered Saturday, May 1, with students from more than 100 high schools across the state on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign for the high level competition.

In the geometry contest, senior Joseph Park of Buffalo Grove placed fifth among the 172 students competing in the Class 3AA division, of schools with enrollments between 1,000 and 1,999 students.

Park then combined with junior Jong Kim of Wheeling to finish in 10th place in the junior-senior two-person competition in the 3AA division, of the 27 teams in the event,

Saint Viator mathletes included: sophomore Ji Woo Hong of Mount Prospect, sophomores Joshua So and William Keum of Hoffman Estates, senior Jay Chung and junior Kyle Metler, both of Elk Grove Village; and sophomore Nick Curran of Palatine.

Math department chairwoman Mary Lee DeBelina accompanied the group and moderates the team during their competitive season.

"This was our first time competing at state, and with the SAT on Saturday, we didn't have a full team," Debelina said. "But I'm so proud of bringing home two medals. It was really a great experience to see so many students that were enthusiastic about math."

Going into the contest, Saint Viator students had finished first in the regional for Algebra II with Park capturing first place in geometry.