MBA students lord it over in math competition

Three students from Marianas Baptist Academy reigned supreme in this year’s CNMI MATHCOUNTS Commonwealth Championship Competition held yesterday morning at the Chacha Oceanview Junior High School social hall.

Sweaty palms, rolling eyes and bitten lips were the common gestures and reactions of students from 22 teams from 12 different schools as a large crowd watched them scribble and solve tricky mathematical problems.

Christina Kim Lee stormed the race during the final countdown round, winning first place by beating nine other math hopefuls. En Yang Pang came in second. Lee and En are both from Marianas Baptist Academy.

Dencio Manglona from Saipan Community School came in third while another Marianas Baptist Academy student, Frank Yeung, ranked fourth.

The top four students will represent the CNMI in the National MATHCOUNTS Championship in Detroit, Michigan this coming May.

Parents, students, teachers, and coaches filled the hall to root for their respective contenders, keeping their fingers crossed during the three rounds of the competition: sprint, target, and the team round.

The scores from the three rounds were summed up and the top 10 individuals were selected to move up to the final countdown round.

Other students who made it to top 10 were Laura You Mi Lee, Marianas Baptist Academy; Rachel Kim, Mount Carmel School; Jesse Sablan, Marianas Baptist Academy; Se Rhee Kim, Saipan International School; Arthur Welch, Marianas Baptist Academy; and Jumil Esposo, Chacha Oceanview Junior High School.

Thirteen-year old Christina Kim Lee said she is very happy to rank number one in the event. She cited the support of her friends, parents, and God for her triumph. Lee’s brother was also last year’s MATHCOUNTS champion. Lee said she and the three other winners will have to prepare and work harder for the national finals.

MATHCOUNTS chapter coordinator Martha Camacho said the event would not have happened without the support of Verizon Micronesia, Transamerica Corp., Subway Investment, Mobil Oil Marianas, DFS Saipan, Continental Airlines and Chong’s Corp. She also acknowledged the assistance of the Saipan Garment Manufacturing Association, UP Alumni Association CNMI Chapter, UMDA Inc., Saipan Shipping, and National Office Supply.

The MATHCOUNTS competition is hosted by EFC Engineers and Architects Corp., with the aim of getting CNMI students interested in mathematics. This year’s MATHCOUNTS was EFC’s 11th year of sponsoring the event.