Almost 500 students competed in the third annual Math Field Day at California State University, Fresno (CSUF) on April 21.

Ninety-two FC participants took tests and played games. The high school tied for first place in the Small School Division, however, lost the tiebreaker to University High. The junior high placed first in all division.

The students stretched their ability against the other 31 schools in attendance in three events: Leap Frog (partner test), The Game (strategy game) and Mad Hatter (timed test).

“Math Field Day is a great event because it provides a great opportunity for A+ students to be challenged,” Michael Fenton, math teacher, said. “It is also a way to make math interactive and fun.”

Students also won individual awards. Sophomore John Carreon placed first overall in The Game.

“We have played the Game in class and I practiced, so I was ready for the competition,” Carreon said. “It was fun to win first place, the event really gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

Senior Matthew Shattuck tied for sixth in the Mad Hatter, juniors Benjamin Dang and Ellie Wilhelm placed fifth in Leap Frog. In addition, freshman Riley Endicott finished third in The Game.

“I was able to compete against other schools and it was a new challenge,” Endicott said. “Fenton gave us a lot of tips that gave us the edge in The Game; I really appreciated his advice.”

FC also had the largest number of students in attendance.

“Of all the reasons to go to Math Field Day, I hope students saw math outside of the classroom,” Fenton said. “I heard some ‘this is fun’ and ‘wow, my brain hurts’; I hope the event showed the students that there is always room to grow.”

For more information, please read Benjamin Dang’s April 18 article, “Campus fights math battle” or this reporter’s April 25 article, “Class questions math relevance” .