The Starr’s Mill varsity math team placed second in the Small School Division at the Thirteenth Annual Rockdale Mathematics Competition hosted by the Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology. 132 teams from 45 different schools across the state competed.

The competition consisted of four rounds — three team rounds and one individual round. During the first three rounds, the competitors work together to solve problems and in the final round, each student works to solve more problems individually. The fourth round determines the overall winner for each school.

Sophomore Brock Spence took home the top Starr’s Mill award. “If one person knows how to solve the problem, we’ll let them take over and walk us through it,” Michael Haynes said. “It helps us learn team chemistry.”

Senior Michael Haynes, junior Ian Fertig, and sophomores Brock Spence and Jay Yao placed second in team competition.

The students also learned new math concepts during the competition. These concepts are often applied in the classroom.

“They find where their strengths and weaknesses are,” math teacher and team coach Michelle Genovese said. “This helps them prepare for the next competition.”