Ocean City Teams Take First, Third at Stockton College Math Competition

A pair of Ocean City High School teams took home honors from the Mathematical Mayhem competition on Saturday at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.

Ocean City High School’s Maham Ahmad, Carolyn Previti and Isabel Benvenuti won first place in the Team Exam competition.

Ocean City High School’s Alec Helm, Ben Fischer and Matt Unsworth finished third in the same competition.

There was also a category for individual exam takers, as 48 students from nine area high schools converged on the college's Galloway campus.

The exams were designed to challenge the students and assess their current skill development. During lunch, the competitors toured the college with members of the Stockton Math Club to experience campus life. The competition was hosted by Stockton Mathematics faculty members and students in the Math Club. 

High school competitors came from Ocean City High School, Absegami High School, Atlantic City High School, Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Cedar Creek High School, Egg Harbor Township High School, Mainland Regional High School, Oakcrest High School and Southern Regional High School.

The experience “is meant to reduce test anxiety, increase student confidence and provide high school students with an inside view of college life,” said Dr. Chia-Lin Wu, associate professor of Mathematics and founder of the competition. The students were exposed to the challenges of math and were able to see where they stand among their peers, he added.

“The number of students and teachers who came out today shows their love and passion for math,” said Wu.                                                                

The exams were created and graded by Stockton Math faculty. Members of the Stockton Math Club proctored the exams.