This past weekend, the North Math Team traveled to Illinois State University to compete in the annual state competition, leaving with multiple top 10 finishes. Junior Ania Smith placed third in individual Algebra 2, Smith and junior Henry Hodge placed 10th in two person Algebra 2 and the six-person freshman Algebra 1 team placed ninth.
Because North won their regional back in February, the entire team got the chance to compete at the state level.
“We had the entire team qualify, which means we got to participate in all events, … which is the first time in a really long time that that happened,” said North math teacher and Math Team adviser Dina Johnson. ”It was like the early 2010s the last time that our entire team qualified for state through regionals.”
This was Smith’s first time placing at state individually after competing for three years. In the Algebra 2 event, students are given 50 minutes to solve 20 Algebra 2-based problems. Smith scored an 18.
“They posted the answers within five minutes after you leave the room, … so I knew five minutes after I took it that I had gotten an 18 out of 20. And usually that’s like a third place finish,” said Smith.
To prepare for her event, she spent a lot of time studying on her own.
“There’s a collection of practice tests, and I do those to practice. Usually the ones from 2025 and 2024 are the most accurate,” said Smith. “I’ll do practice tests, and I’ll have them timed as I get closer to state, so that I experience the timed portion. And then there’s also this online book called The AMC 10/12 prep book, and it’s a different competition, but it has the same material, so I’ve used that to study.”
Johnson notes that Smith’s preparedness sets her apart.
“As advisers, we don’t put a lot of pressure on our students to prepare. … There’s students who don’t prepare at all, and they just go and to see how they do and have fun, and there’s other students who put a lot of time and preparation in,” said Johnson. “It’s really cool to see somebody who really puts in the time and effort and somebody who really, really wants to do well succeed in doing that.”
Smith looks forward to participating again next year, where she will compete in Precalculus.
“Next year I can’t do Algebra 2 because that’s juniors and under, so I would have to compete in Precalc, which I have to start studying for in, probably, August,” said Smith.
Many of the members enjoyed getting to compete at state alongside other Illinoisans with passions for mathematics.
“It’s really fun to see a group come together just to celebrate their love of math and just going and having fun, … and seeing thousands of students from all over the state of Illinois coming together to enjoy problem solving is kind of cool,” said Johnson.
