Bluefield State College News February 7, 2014 Twelve Mercer County Middle School Students Qualify at BSC for Statewide MATHCOUNTS Competition Twelve Mercer County middle school students earned the right to compete in the 2014 MATHCOUNTS state competition through qualifying competition in the county's MATHCOUNTS championship at Bluefield State College on February 4. The Princeton Middle School team of Christopher Billings, Ryan Burks, Madison Knight, and Dalton Ash won the team title, with the Bluefield Middle School team of Trevor Barber, Jordan Farley, Katelyn Roberts, and Savannah Smith taking second place. Those teams will move on to the state competition at Braxton County High School in March. Oliver Morgan (PikeView Middle), Tray Lennox (PikeView Middle), Cameron Smith (Princeton Middle), and Bethany Green (PikeView Middle) also qualified as individuals to advance to the state-level competition. Roy Pruett, BSC Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology, served as Southeast Chapter/WV Society of Professional Engineers' MATHCOUNTS coordinator for the 27th consecutive year. "MATHCOUNTS strives to engage middle school students in fun and challenging math problems," Pruett explained. "The goal is to expand students' academic and professional opportunities." Students from all 50 states take part in the program and compete for numerous scholarships and prizes. At the BSC awards program, Pruett thanked the dedication of each school's teachers who worked with students to prepare them for the county competition. "When we began sponsoring this event 27 years ago, our students went many years without placing at the state level," he recounted. "However, in the past five years, we have seen Mercer County students rank among the top ten individual winners, statewide, and two of our individual students placed in the top ten." MATHCOUNTS is an effective resource for encouraging students to consider careers in fields that rely on mathematics. "Several of Bluefield State College's top Electrical Engineering Technology graduates have come through the MATHCOUNTS program," Pruett noted. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children.