BASIS Independent Manhattan’s middle school math club participated in the MATHCOUNTS Manhattan Chapter Regional Competition on Feb. 4, 2023. They performed at the top of their game and finished in second place as a Top Team, above the best and brightest teams from a slate of other schools in Manhattan.

We had several stellar performances by our students with Cooper H. (’28) placing third in the individual rankings out of 284 students. There were two more Wildcats who finished in the top 77 participants – Shreyas S. (’28) in 32nd and Alex S. (’27) in 60th.

To prepare for this annual competition, the math club has been meeting weekly for the whole school year to practice problems, complete mock contests, and participate in other competitions. With all of their preparations, the students were exuberant about showing off their skills in the MATHCOUNTS competition.

On the day of the event, our Wildcats showed up and did a fantastic job! Mr. Schuman (Math Club Coach & Subject Expert Teacher, Math) recounted how exciting the announcement of winners turned out to be.

“School team awards were announced starting with eighth place, and as each one was announced I could see our students’ hopes diminish. Then when we heard ‘…and in second place, BASIS Independent Manhattan,’ and a high-decibel roar erupted from our section of the audience.

It was amazing to share in the pure joy and sense of accomplishment that was behind that roar. I am so proud of this math team and all of the hard work that they put into preparing for this event.”

Congratulations to the entire team:

• Shreyas S. (’28)
• Cooper H. (’27)
• Alexander S. (’27)
• Itamar L. (’29)
• Matthew G. (’28)
• Aiden T. (’28)
• Shepherd L. (’28)
• Michael H. (’29)
• Arnav M. (’28)
• Deven A. (’29)

The BASIS Independent Manhattan team has advanced to the MATHCOUNTS New York State Competition, which will be held in Saratoga Springs on March 4.

Mr. Schuman summed up how he was feeling with an eye on the future:

I am very pleased with our math team’s performance. We will continue to work on problems and discuss strategies for the remainder of the school year, with the goal of building on our success. My hope is that returning math club students will provide mentorship and leadership that will make our team even stronger. I am also enthusiastic that new students will join the club next year to expand our team’s breadth of knowledge and problem-solving abilities.

About MATHCOUNTS
MATHCOUNTS is a national middle school math enrichment program offering competition and club activities designed to foster an appreciation of math among U.S. students so as to prepare students for future career opportunities and success.