Math Bash Eleven Taft mathletes journeyed up to Hotchkiss for what is becoming an annual tradition, the Hotchkiss Math Bash. The event is ably and graciously hosted by the Hotchkiss Math Team, says Taft adviser Ted Heavenrich. Contingents from Choate, Deerfield and Kent joined the fun, totaling more than 60 competitors from the five schools. The event is composed of advanced and intermediate categories, and the competition involves an individual test and a team GUTS round (teams of four). “When the dust settled,” reports Heavenrich, “Taft had taken first and second place in the Advanced individual competition (Sonny An and Jack Mi respectively), and Joseph Han took third place on the individual Intermediate test. That two of these students are ninth graders makes the result all the more significant and surprising.” In the team round, Taft’s first advanced team was edged out for second
n The Taft Math Team at MIT for the Harvard-MIT Math Tournament. Courtesy of Bohan Gao ’15
at the buzzer by the top Choate team. (Hotchkiss ran away with first in a dominating performance.) Those competing for Taft: Advanced 1: Sonny An ’17, Bohan Gao ’15, Jack Mi ’15, Kevin Won ’15; Advanced 2: Srinidhi Bharadwaj ’15, Camila Jiang ’14, Pond Premtoon ’14, Jennifer Zeng ’15;
Cum Laude Academic Dean Jon Willson ’82 and Headmaster Willy MacMullen ’78 with Cum Laude inductees (front, from left) Rozalie Czesana, Rebecca Karabus, Linh Tang, Natalie Tam, Mishel Figueroa, Charlotte Anrig, Aleksa Lambert, Caroline Henebry. Back row, Robert Brown, Dawson Jones, John MacMullen, Bridget Dougherty, Tiffany Li, Gregory Anrig and Carl Sangree. Yee-Fun Yin
Intermediate 1: Joseph Han ’17, Kelvin Xu ’16, Eva Zhang ’16. A larger group of mathletes left Taft before sunrise on Hotchkiss Day and traveled to Boston in order to compete in the prestigious Harvard-MIT Math Tournament, where roughly 115 teams and 620 individuals compete from around the world. “I was hoping for a top-30 finish,” said Heavenrich. “It was a long day for our kids, as they took a 50-minute individual general test, followed by a 50-minute individual themed test, and then, after a short break, a 60-minute team test. We all looked forward to the team GUTS round, which would conclude the day.” The GUTS round is a bit like an 80-minute mathematical relay race, with 12 rounds and live scoring. “It actually is a great spectator sport,” adds Heavenrich. “Near the end the Red Rhinos were vying for a top-10 finish. We finished fifth in the GUTS round and seventh in the sweepstakes (the best measure of overall performance on the day). Jack Mi finished sixth overall on the individual tests, and tied for fourth on the general test. Even though they missed the excitement of Hotchkiss Day, there was some consolation. “We clobbered the Bearcats,” Heavenrich adds.
Taft Bulletin Winter 2014 15