The Staples High School math team won second place in the state-wide competition on Wednesday, April 6. The Staples team placed amongst hundreds of other teams from across the state, including Amity Regional High School and Edwin O. Smith High School, who tied for third place. First place went to the hosts of the competition, Greenwich High School team, who won by 32 points.

The Staples math team has a record of doing well in Connecticut competitions, as the team has placed several times in the state competition previously. Although the team came in second this year, several members voiced that the whole team was very proud of their win.

Arianna Markel ’16, a member of the math team, expressed the fact that everyone was happy with the outcome and had a lot of fun despite the stress of the competition. “I think we were all really proud of how we did,” she said. “We came and did the best we could and that’s all we could ask for.”

Members of the team, such as Jisu Ahn ’17, said the second place title was especially fulfilling because of the tough competition. She said that although this was not the team’s most distinguished victory in comparison to previous years, the fact that they were able to prevail over the especially tough competition they were faced with this year was what made the victory so special. “Our school’s competitors have [always] been very talented, both individually and as a team,” she said. “It was pretty amazing to be able to live up to that.”

The next step for the team will be to compete in the New England competition next month. Arun Soni ’16, a long-standing member of the team, expressed his eagerness to move onto the next competition.

“We’re really excited about it, but we have to compete with schools from Massachusetts, and they are insane at math,” Soni said. “In years past, we haven’t done nearly as well in New England’s, because it is a much tougher competition.”

Regardless, the math team said they were optimistic about the results of the state competition and the upcoming competition in New England. “We have a really strong team this year who works really well together,” Soni said.