COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — Winners of the 24th annual Colorado Math Olympiad at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs were announced April 27 during an on-campus awards ceremony.
This year’s Olympiad, held April 20, drew more than 420 middle and high school students from across Colorado to UCCS to tackle five mind-bending math problems and present essay-style solutions.
Judges awarded first place to Sam Elder, a junior from Poudre High School, Fort Collins. Elder successfully solved all five problems both in 2006 and 2007, and is the only student in Olympiad history to have done so. He received second place in 2005. Elder will receive a gold medal and $2,200 in college scholarships, along with a graphing calculator, watch, software and other prizes.
Hannah Alpert, a senior from Boulder’s Fairview High School, took second place in the competition for the second year in a row. She will receive a silver medal, $1,900 in college scholarships and other prizes.
Due to the dramatic difference in success between the top two Olympians and the rest of the participants, judges elected to not award a third prize in this year’s competition.
First Honorable Mentions will be awarded to the following 13 contestants: Matt Nehls, sophomore, and Chris Pak, junior, Air Academy High School; Michael Morton, sophomore, Rangely High School; Shuli Song, freshman, The Classical Academy; James Powell, senior, Calhan High School; David Stone, senior, Thornton High School; Daniel Pascua, junior, Liberty High School; John Thilenius, freshman, Cheyenne Mountain Jr. High; Sean LeHouillier and Sam Meyer, both juniors, Cheyenne Mountain High School; Lucas Buccafusca, sophomore, Poudre High School; and Chris Guthrie, 8th grade, Summit Middle School.
Mike Zhang, Junior from Alabama School of Math & Science, will also receive First Honorable Mention.
Second Honorable Mentions will be awarded to the following 49 contestants: Geoffrey Iyer, junior, Ft. Collins High School; Erik Pozzi, senior, Air Academy High School; Scott Gneiting, sophomore, Ponderosa High School; Allan Gardner, 8th grade, Holy Trinity Catholic School; Mutian Yao, sophomore, Fairview High School; Chris Culver, senior, Ponderosa High School; Matt Wenger, senior, Doherty High School; Francesco Georg, junior, Ft. Collins High School; Kelly Mason, senior, Rock Canyon High School; Zachary Carter, sophomore, Florence High School; Christian Pitera, freshman, Mesa Ridge High School; Margaret Koehler, freshman, Lewis-Palmer High School; Laura Hopkins, junior, St. Mary’s High School; Sarah McConnell, sophomore, Joey Kelly and John Harris, both seniors, Ponderosa High School; Paul Trozan, senior, and Jeremy Halperin, sophomore, Ft. Collins High School; Peter Morton, senior, Rangely High School; Damien Gapinski, senior, Mesa Ridge High School; Matt Thilenius, sophomore, Cheyenne Mountain High School; Joseph Zhang and Andy Brunner, both sophomores, Pine Creek High School; Ian Bowen, sophomore, Poudre High School; Annisija Wallin, sophomore, Falcon High School; Alexander Black, 7th grade, Summit Middle School; Nicholas Moore, senior, Pine Creek High School; Natasha Wallin, senior, and Jade Slayter, freshman, Falcon High School; Thomas Tingey, junior, Florence High School; Sam Kennedy, 7th grade, Erie Middle School; David Hyland, senior, St. Mary’s High School; Jon Zepf, sophomore, Air Academy High School; Janne Van Dam, senior, Ellicott High School; Cole Barlow, 8th grade, Rangely High School; Postyn Smith, 8th grade, Cheyenne Mountain Jr. High; Craig O’Dell, senior, Pine Creek High School; Allison Pineterpe, sophomore, Falcon High School; Ryan Carson, 7th grade, Altona Middle School; Daniel Nelson, senior, Ellicott High School; Mitchell McCarty, 6th grade, Timberview Middle School; Stephanie Lengyel, senior, Falcon High School; Elise Jenkins, senior, and Scott Ritz, junior, Pine Creek High School; Rebecca Fathman, sophomore, Rampart High School; Nik Evitt, 8th grade, Cheyenne Mountain Jr. High; Calvin Rutter, senior, Florence High School; and Brandon Wright, junior, Falcon High School.
Kevin Beale, Junior from Alabama School of Math & Science, will also receive Second Honorable Mention.
Art Award will be presented to Emily Giles, senior from Falcon High School.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 26 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and four doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,600 students annually. For more information, visit http://www.uccs.edu.