This is one of the better finishes for Minnesota students in the national meet.

Gaurav Singh an 8th grader at Wayzata Central Middle School, Plymouth, placed 8th out of 228 students from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Department of Defense and State Department schools

Nathan Salo, an 7th grader at Falcon Ridge Middle School, Apple Valley, placed 10th.

Both students participated in the the intense, one-on-one oral Countdown Round where the top 12 Mathletes competed for the title of MATHCOUNTS National Champion.

The other two members of the Minnesota team, which placed 11th out of 57 teams, were Andrew Ford, Grade 8, St. Louis Park Junior High, St. Louis Park, and Soham Shah, Grade 8, Central Middle School, Eden Prairie

Andrew and Soham were in the top 30 percent of finishers.

The four students earned the all-expenses-paid-trip to the National competition because they were the top four finishers in the Minnesota State Mathcounts meet held in Plymouth March 24. Gaurav was the top finisher in the state meet.

An eighth-grader from First Colony Middle School in Texas took first in this year's competition, hosted by Lockheed Martin, a MATHCOUNTS National and Minnesota Sponsor.

In the team competition, a team from Sugarland, Texas, captured the title of National Team Champions.

"Congratulations to each of these students on their amazing accomplishments," said E. Bruce Lawson, Chairman of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. "These Mathletes, and all of their counterparts around the nation, deserve our praise and acknowledgement of their talent and dedication. MATHCOUNTS is honored to support the efforts of U.S. middle school students to develop strong mathematical abilities."

Celebrating its 24th anniversary, MATHCOUNTS is a national mathematics enrichment, coaching and competition program open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Each year, more than 500,000 middle school students use free MATHCOUNTS materials in their schools to sharpen their math skills. Beyond the challenge of learning new skills, the MATHCOUNTS competition series (school, local, state and national) provides students with an added incentive to focus on mathematics. More than 6,300 schools registered students to participate in the MATHCOUNTS competition and vie for prizes, scholarships, bragging rights and the opportunity to advance to the Lockheed Martin MATHCOUNTS National Competition. Students of all abilities thoroughly enjoy the experience and develop the mathematical aptitude, self-confidence and teamwork skills to better prepare them for their future.

The mission of MATHCOUNTS is to increase enthusiasm for and enhance achievement in middle school mathematics throughout the United States. With the generous support of all MATHCOUNTS sponsors and volunteers, and leadership of the National Society of Professional Engineers at the local and state levels, MATHCOUNTS is providing today's students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers.

Additional information on the National Competition is available at http://www.mathcounts.org.

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