On To States
Local student qualifies for MathCounts state tourneyBy BRIAN FERRY bferry@timesobserver.com
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He'd won the local competition three years running.
This was the year for Brandon Eschborn to move on.
The MathCounts competition is generally open to students through eighth grade.
Eschborn won the School Level competitions at Learning Enrichment Center as a fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grader.
At the Chapter Level competition at Gannon University on Saturday, Feb. 27, Eschborn started out on fire.
"I was slightly nervous, but relatively confident," he said.
In the 30-question Sprint Round, Eschborn scored correct answers on the first eight. However, he fell off that pace, getting only eight more and leaving two blank.
"During the Target Round his confidence grew as he got six of eight correct," LEC math teacher Kellie Blasco said.
Those two rounds led up to seeding for the head-to-head Countdown Round.
The seeds are not announced. The top ten finishers are called, but not in any particular order, Blasco said. "Brandon was not sure when he would be called to the front of the 1,000-person auditorium to participate."
Going into last year's Chapter Level Countdown Round, Eschborn was in eighth and won his way to a sixth-place finish.
This year, he sat as each of the other nine names was called. He had placed first in the preliminary rounds and only had to defeat one opponent for the title.
"He was nervous throughout the round, but kept solving problems at his seat" to keep from coming to the podium 'cold,' Blasco said.
Eschborn faced an eighth-grade boy from Walnut Creek Middle School in Fairview.
The students are given problems to solve from a variety of math disciplines. The first to solve a question correctly within 45 seconds wins a point. The first competitor to three points wins.
"Unfortunately, Brandon did not answer one question correctly," Blasco said. "He felt that the other boy was faster."
He was also older and won't be eligible next year.
Eschborn will have one more chance to win the Chapter Level competition.
But, before that, he has qualified to move on to the State Level competition on March 26 and 27 in Harrisburg.
"Brandon will represent Beaty, LEC, and the WCSD," Blasco said.
"He is nervous but confident," Blasco said. "He would like to make it to nationals."
That means a top-four finish in the state.
"He will be doing some extra prep for this competition," Blasco said. "The state competition is very challenging and the competitors in the top 10 are unbelievably fast."
That extra work will focus heavily on geometry, she said.
Eschborn almost didn't make the Chapter Level event. "Warren County School District canceled the transportation to the event due to weather," Blasco said. "Students could attend if parents drove them."
"Brandon's family transported him to the event and he was the only WCSD student to attend," she said.
"Warren County School District has not been to the state competition since 2006 when Miranda Miller (Eisenhower) and Tyler Leichtenberger (Beaty) qualified," Blasco said. "That was our second visit in as many years as Olivia Auell (Eisenhower) was there in 2005."
Blasco expects continued success for the district at the MATHCOUNTS events.
The LEC group is heavy on seventh-graders.
"Next year will be our year," she said.
That may be true for the rest of the field, but Eschborn is having a pretty good year this year.
