The room is filled with intelligent students, ready to demonstrate their knowledge and eager to start the individual test. Each student from all over Illinois is seated at an awkward half-desk that somehow has to fit their calculator, pencils, and math test. While frustrated and thrown off by the lack of space provided to take the test, the HHS Math Team students do not let it deter them from doing their best. 

This individual test marked the start of their State competition and the last Math Team competition of the year. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike have been prepping and practicing for this moment since midway through first semester. 

Every Tuesday after school, Math Team coaches Laura Jenkins and Anne Price taught these students various math problems and went through different types of practice tests. This hard work proved very successful, as they won every local competition leading up to State. 

“Locally, we do exceptionally well, but we are now competing with the best teams in the state, so it’s trickier,” Jenkins said. 

While the HHS Math Team did not expect to win State, they still acknowledged how far they have come and the incredible season they have had. 

“I think, personally, I’ve done pretty well, and I think our team has done really well throughout the whole season,” junior Logan Borzych said. 

As the students made final preparations for April 22, they were excited, but each student was nervous about a different part of the competition. 

“I’m excited to compete against the other schools,” junior Keira Darnall said. “I’m most nervous for two-person because it can be very stressful, and we’re competing against really good teams.”

The positivity in the room definitely helped ease some of the nerves, and Jenkin’s goal of Huntley making the top 20 seemed more and more realistic. 

“I’m most excited for the calculator team because I feel like we could do a lot better than we had before, and I think it’s gonna be good this time around,” Borzych said. 

For seniors like Nicholas Bom who has been a hardworking member of the Math Team for years, this was their final high school Math Team competition. 

“Just coming in, getting ready to have some fun, and we’re going to enjoy the math. That’s all there is to it. We’re going to try to win in this process,” Bom said. 

While Math Team did not win, they did take 20th place overall at state, achieving Jenkin’s and Price’s goal of making the top 20. On top of that, junior Jeremy Chadwick and Borzych placed the highest individually for Huntley, placing 70th in the state.

Both Jenkins and Price could not be prouder of the hard work and dedication that their Math Team students have put into these competitions and now State. It is no wonder that the program seems to be growing because it is very much a positive environment where students are encouraged to learn and grow. 

The Math Team students also saw State as more than just a competition and chose to enjoy the opportunity to take a trip and have fun with it which is exactly what the Math Team coaches love to see.  

“It’s always a great trip, and it’s so much fun. We sing the math song, and then we go all over a full college campus,” Jenkins said. “We take all kinds of tests. It’s very enjoyable.”