Every answer was 24.

Then again, the students were not trying to determine the answer. They were trying to figure out how to get there.

The Warren County School District Challenge 24 Tournament was held May 24, pitting students in grades four and five, and six through eight against each other.

In the end, Olivia Wallace of Eisenhower Middle School took first place in the sixth through eighth classification, and Sophia Wallace of Eisenhower Elementary School won the fourth and fifth grades division.

Photo submitted to Times Observer Competitors in the Warren County School District Challenge 24 District Tournament sixth through eighth grades division were (front, from left): Kiana Stanbro (Youngsville), Brandon Swanson (Sheffield), Carly Russell (Virtual), Olivia Wallace (Eisenhower), and Lainey Font (Eisenhower); and (back row) Quintin Norris (Beaty), Madeline Walker (Beaty), Isaac Hammerbeck (Sheffield), Cassady Ferino (Virtual), and Bowen Lindell (Youngsville).

Each card in Challenge 24 has four single-digit numbers. All the competitor has to do was use addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to make all four of the numbers on the card total 24.

For example: a student could use multiplication four times for a card with 1, 2, 3, and 4 on it. For 1, 3, 4, and 7, the student might multiply the four and the seven to get 28, add the one and the three to get four, and subtract that four from that 28 to get 24.

The tournament was organized by the district’s gifted support team – Principal Elizabeth Kent and teachers Fallon Bachman, Meggi Brown, Pamela Brown, and Rebecca Downey – and hosted at Beaty-Warren Middle School.

Qualifying competitions were held at each school and in each grade, with the top two students from each moving on to school-wide tournaments. The top two in each classification at the school-wide tournaments moved into the district championship.

The top qualifiers from each school-wide competition were:

¯ Beaty – fourth and fifth – Gabriel Dougherty (first) and Shawn Lang (second);

¯ Beaty – sixth through eighth – Madeline Walker (first) and Quintin Norris (second);

¯ Eisenhower – fourth and fifth – Sophia Wallace (first) and Payton Elms (second);

¯ Eisenhower – sixth through eighth – Olivia Wallace (first) and Lainey Font (second);

¯ Sheffield – fourth and fifth – Chance Anderson (first) and Kaelon Connolly (second);

¯ Sheffield – sixth through eighth – Brandon Swanson (first) and Isaac Hammerbeck (second);

¯ Virtual (options 2 and 3) – fourth and fifth – Isaac Zapel (first, did not participate at district event) and Ella Porier (second, DNP);

¯ Virtual – sixth through eighth – Carly Russell (first) and Cassady Ferino (second);

¯ WAEC – fourth and fifth – Peyton Vincent (first) and Bentley Sherry (second);

¯ Youngsville – fourth and fifth – Gabby Hodak (first), Riley Lauger (second, DNP), and Collin Havers (alternate);

¯ Youngsville – sixth through eighth – Kiana Stanbro (first) and Bowen Lindell (second).

In each classification, the competition was whittled down to four finalists.

In the fourth and fifth grade category, the finalists were: Sophia Wallace (first seed); Elms (second); Lang (third); and Dougherty (fourth).

The sixth through eighth classification finalists were: Olivia Wallace (first); Font (second); Norris (third-tie); and Walker (third-tie).