Byron-Bergen High School Math Teacher Jon DiLaura has coached the High School Math League for a decade. His teams consistently rank in the top half of the division and this year’s team finished an admirable fourth overall. Additionally, two students qualified to continue into the post-season.
Junior Sio Caballero and sophomore John Mercovich will participate in the All-Star County meet at St. John Fisher College in March. They will also compete at the state competition against other Math League All-Stars from throughout the entire state. This competition takes place in Middletown, New York in April.
“This is an outstanding achievement for both Sio and John,” says DiLaura. “It’s a great example of students going above and beyond the normal school day in an effort to better themselves academically.”
The Math League division consists of ten districts from the northern Genesee Valley BOCES region who compete four times a year at Genesee Community College. Nine students from each school compete for their district, while up to four additional students compete for personal scores.
“It is just like an athletic team,” says DiLaura. “Our nine highest scorers compete for the school, but we can bring four alternates who may be underclassmen gaining experience or just students working to improve their individual scores.”
Over a series of rounds, the competitors solve math questions in the advanced topics such as logarithms, trigonometry, systems of equations, and matrices. “Any student in grades nine through 12 is eligible to join the Math League,” says DiLaura. “But they have to show up to practice ready to work.”
The 2018-19 team consists of seniors Emma Goodman, Anna Hersom, and Will Johnson, juniors Siomara Caballero, Cambria Kinkelaar, Auburn Schwartzmeyer, and Nate Zwerka, sophomores Emily Chaback, Sara Goodman, Hope Hersom, Colby Leggo, and John Mercovich, and freshman Madison Burke.
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