The regional competition followed the Warren County School District’s annual Challenge 24 Tournament, held May 5 at Warren Area High School. Students from Beaty-Warren Middle School, Sheffield Area Middle High School, Youngsville Middle High School, Eisenhower Middle High School and Warren Area Elementary Center competed in grade-level divisions. The top 20 WCSD participants advanced to the regional tournament, while Saint Joseph Catholic School sent eight fifth and sixth grade students to compete.

Challenge 24 is a fast-paced mathematics competition designed for students in grades 4-8. The tournament emphasizes mental math, number sense, critical thinking, problem-solving and pattern recognition as students use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to create equations that equal 24.

The fourth and fifth grade division took place on May 18. Seven WCSD students and four Saint Joseph students participated in the regional event.

During the first two rounds, all competitors solved single-digit and double-digit Challenge 24 cards. Scores from those rounds determined the top 12 students who advanced to the semifinals, where participants solved variable cards requiring them to find values that made both sides of an equation equal 24.

WCSD and Saint Joseph students competed in Challenge 24 on May 19.

Students advancing to the semifinal round included:

Amarah Probst (Sheffield)

Avalee Seither (Sheffield)

Elyzza Linkerhof (Eisenhower)

AJ Harris (Beaty)

WCSD and Saint Joseph students competed in the Challenge 24 on May 18.

Aria Carlson (Beaty)

Anna Nickerson (Beaty)

Titus Hoak (Sheffield)

Reagan Caldwell (Saint Joseph Catholic School)

Although several local students reached the semifinals, none advanced to the championship round.

The sixth, seventh, and eighth grade divisions competed on May 19. Representing WCSD were four sixth grade students and eight seventh and eighth grade students, while Saint Joseph Catholic School sent four sixth grade competitors.

Among sixth grade participants, the following students advanced to the semifinals:

Tristan Lord (Sheffield)

Andrew Grosch (Saint Joseph)

Daxter Irons (Beaty)

Avah Briggs (Eisenhower)

Ceci Wallace (Eisenhower)

Semifinalists in the seventh and eighth grade division included:

Ian Lewis (Youngsville)

Bristol Fuller (Beaty)

Liliana Sandagata (Beaty)

Ethan Zimmerman (Eisenhower)

Ashton Carrington (Beaty)

Kaylee Gray (Beaty)

Hayley Northup (Youngsville)

Four local students advanced to the final round: Ian Lewis, Bristol Fuller, Liliana Sandagata and Ashton Carrington.

Carrington, an eighth-grade student from Beaty-Warren Middle School, earned the tournament’s top honor, capturing the gold medal and first-place finish in his last year participating in the competition.

Carrington reflected on his championship performance, saying, “It is a good ending point of Challenge 24 for me.”

Participants credited hard work, perseverance and practice for their accomplishments.

“Math is my favorite subject, so I love the challenge and competition of Math 24,” said Bristol Fuller.

Classmates Avah Briggs and Ceci Wallace emphasized the importance of teamwork and preparation.

“We practiced together any chance we had, and our hard work paid off. We are proud of the outcome,” they said.

Beaty Gifted Support and STEM instructor Meggi Brown praised the students’ efforts throughout the competition.

“The Challenge 24 tournament was a true showcase of talent and determination,” Brown said. “I couldn’t be prouder of how well everyone performed.”

The strong showing by students from both Warren County School District and Saint Joseph Catholic School highlight the region’s commitment to academic excellence and demonstrates the value of competitive mathematics programs in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills.