This year's Math Counts champion may have had an extra motivator: a friendly sibling rivalry.

Lucas Riggins was the first to slam his computer shut, followed closely by fellow Middle School finalists Dhanish Patel, Denton Rines and Preston Pinkerton – each answering all questions correctly within a matter of seconds of one another.

“You all finished with 10 seconds to spare,” announced facilitator Alexus Joplin of the Butler County Community Resource Council on Thursday, Dec. 4, at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library.

The three-week competition took place last month over Google Meet, with assistance from R-I instructional coaches Pam Davis and Gretchen Pendley. The contest began with over 300 fourth graders from Lake Road and the Middle School, as the bar was raised higher each round with respect to speed and accuracy.

A total of 18 students achieved perfect scores in the semifinals, and the top four were determined by the fastest time, according to math interventionist Aleanna Moore, who helped administer the test. Moore commented: “The fact that they all even made it to the final four is incredible. They all should be extremely proud of themselves!”

Lucas completed the 60 multiplication problems up to integers of 12 in just 3 minutes and 28 seconds, earning the first-place trophy. Afterward, he shared how he prepared with his mother BriAnne using a stopwatch in an effort to outperform his sister Laynie, now a sophomore, who was a Math Counts finalist back in 2019.

Math Counts was established by the CRC’s Educational Enhancement Committee during the 2010/11 school year. The committee also hosts an annual Spelling Bee live at Fox Radio Network, which happened to feature two of the math finalists, Preston and Dhanish, who took first and second place, respectively, in February.

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Cutline: (Left to right) CRC Prevention Specialist Alexus Joplin announces Lucas Riggins as the winner, while finalists Preston Pinkerton, Dhanish Patel and Denton Rines display good sportsmanship.