Armed with mechanicals pencils and graphing calculators, the six members of the High School Math League along with their Coach Tyler Quinlan hopped in a school van and took off to South St. Paul on the mathematical holiday March 14th, on Pi Day. Taking first in the 5A Section and just barely beating out Pine Island High School, the team qualified to compete in the state competition for the 3rd consecutive year. In addition to qualifying as a team, Samuel Coyle, senior and fourth year veteran of the team, earned a place in the individual state competition for the second year in a row.

Upon arrival at the South St. Paul High School, the team took multiple tests on content from the entire year with problems on trigonometry, analytical geometry, multivariable linear algebra, probability, and many more. Quinlan said, “My favorite part of Math League is the depth and breadth of topics. So much of what we cover in the high school math curriculum is guided by state standards, but Math League allows us to really dive into some unique and intriguing topics and solutions.”

Although the team didn’t get a podium finish, their effort through the year was clear to Coach Quinlan who remarked that “To make the state tournament … is a great recognition of the hard work and ability of our team. Being able to compete at that level with only six people when teams are normally eight is exceptional.”

After a completely virtual season last year, many of the members were grateful for a return to normality and be able to compete at the State competition in-person even if masks were required. Thomas Coyle, freshman and second year veteran Math League member, stated “It was a lot more fun as a team this year to meet in-person and more rewarding to go to the State tournament in-person rather than online. I look forward to competing again next year.”

In addition to celebrating their accomplishments of the year, the Math League team must also say goodbye to two of their senior members, Samuel Coyle and Kris Kehrberg, both of whom have competed since their Freshman year and have been on the state team for the past three years.