Two Cole Students Qualify for State Math Team

EAST GREENWICH, RI—Students from Archie R. Cole Middle School took third place at the state MathCounts competition on Saturday, scoring above Barrington Middle School for the first time in quite some time.

Brandon Zhang, captain of the team, took second place as an individual and Brant Wei was close behind with a fourth-place individual finish. Both boys are eighth graders and were selected to represent the state team that will compete on behalf of all Rhode Island middle school students at the National MathCounts Competition in Washington, D.C., this may.

The Rhode Island MathCounts competition is hosted annually by the Rhode Island Society of Professional Engineers.

MathCounts is a nonprofit that "strives to engage middle school students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging math programs, in order to expand their academic and professional opportunities."

The focus on middle schoolers is because children at this age are at a "critical juncture in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear of mathematics must be overcome," according to the MathCounts website.

The team is coached by Head Coach Yaohua Zhang and assistant coaches Monique Ferguson and Christian Roos.