The Owatonna Math League’s season is coming to a close as their final meet took place in Rochester at Mayo High School on Feb. 13. The team has put in months of hard work by studying material from previous years and mastering commonly used concepts. As the final results have been released, all that preparation seems to have been well worth it. 

Math League is an academic competition similar to Mock Trial or Speech, but focuses primarily   on mathematics. Owatonna High School’s first Math League team was formed in 1981, and many students have been participating since. OHS math teacher, Mr. Steve Benson, has been advising Math League since the fall of 1999. Although the event is becoming more popular in many schools, some teams have recently dropped out. Benson said, “We used to have six or seven teams in the Big 9, and most recently Austin has dropped out.”

Each of the OHS members have unique ways of working through the problems and equations given to them, including senior Henry Bon. Bon said, “The problems are really interesting. I feel like they require more creativity than a lot of stuff you do in math class. They are fun to think through.” This was his fourth and final season being a part of the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League.

A typical season for Math League consists of five meets spanning from fall to late winter. The team just recently wrapped up the season with their fifth meet on Monday, Feb. 13. As of their fourth meet, they were tied with John Marshall for third place; however after the last meet, they finished fourth in the section.

Math League is a great way to stay academically involved while being a part of an extracurricular activity. Six of this year’s participants are graduating leaving only two younger members remaining, which means many recruits are needed for the 2023-2024 team. Benson said, “We’re going to have to have a lot of new influx next year.”

If anyone is interested in becoming a Math League member, contact Mr. Steve Benson at [email protected].