After a long morning full of tough competition, the afternoon awards presentation brought a sense of satisfaction to diligent students who participated in Fresno State?s Math Field Day on April 16.

The campus team was among the winning schools, placing second overall in the small school division. Mike Fenton, math teacher, led a group of 12 students to victory in many categories.

?The Field Day was very exciting,? Matthew Shattuck, ?07, said. ?It was tiring because that day I was also sick. I did not think I did well at first, but it was great to see how I competed in comparison to other high school students.?

Apparently sickness could not keep him from succeeding, as he ranked 7th place in Mad Hatter B, a speed-based, individual competition for ninth and tenth graders.

In the initial round of the NIM type game, seniors Joshua Powell, Chris White and Damon O?Brien recieved perfect scores. Fenton reported that Clovis West coach Leeanne Branham, whose student Matthew Croskey placed first, commended the campus team for their excellent competition in the game.

The math department on campus hopes that this year?s competition will provide motivation for the students to achieve even higher scores in the future.

?Next year, I believe we will do better because we will prepare more in advance,? Fenton said. ?But, overall, the kids who went did very well.?

For more information on the Math Field Day visit http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~mnogin/field-day/.