Spring 2016
BY ELLA BROCKWAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ’17
For the first time in its ten years as a club at Red Bank Regional, the RBR Math League placed in the top ten of the Shore Math League’s end-of-year standings, finishing tied for eighth place and earning a long-awaited trophy for the Bucs.
The goal of placing in the top ten at the end of the competition season is one that was a priority for the members of the club since the first introductory meeting last fall, according to senior club president Sam Falotico.
“We had our goal of placing in the top ten from the very beginning of the season, and to achieve that goal was amazing,” said Falotico. “Placing in the top ten was a feat never accomplished previously, so after years of almost making it, finally getting there was phenomenal.”
The Shore Math League is made up of eighteen schools from Monmouth County who send teams of twelve to six meets from September to February. At each meet, students from the schools compete in three contests: the individual stage, in which each student answers five questions; the relay stage, in which each school assembles two teams of three to answer a question with multiple parts, and the team question, which is often a logic problem answered by seven students on the school’s team.
A total of 24 students represented RBR at the meets over the course of the competition season. Sophomore Harry Jain received an award from the League as the highest point scorer from RBR in the six meets. Jain earned two perfect scores and finished with 23 out of 30 possible points in the individual stages of the meets this year.
“I am very proud of our team this year, because they really worked at improving their competitive skills,” said club adviser and RBR math teacher Annie Murray. “The students organized practices early in the year, holding them once or twice a month so students could get used to the format, and know formulas they should memorize.”
According to Falotico, one of the best parts of the entire experience in Math League this year was the camaraderie amongst the members.
“Math League really felt like a “team” this year; getting shirts, having practices, and the atmosphere itself made us feel like more than just a club,” he said. “Everyone put so much effort into the season and it really showed. The dedication and motivation of my fellow teammates was truly inspiring.”
Murray agreed, noting that the active recruitment of new members for the club by officers Will Cronin, Vincent Novellino, Claire McEvoy, Jain and Falotico resulted in increased participation and enthusiasm for Math League.
Even though the team will graduate several seniors who played key roles in the eighth-place finish and success, Falotico said that the efforts of those in Math League this year will set good examples of what to do in the years to come.
“For the success of future seasons, this year displayed key aspects of leadership, organization, and teamwork,” he said. “I believe this year created a solid foundation for [the] future.”
The Buccaneer 