Windham student places fifth in Maine State Math Meet

By Ed Pierce

LIMESTONE – A student from Windham attending the Maine School of Science and Mathematics (MSSM) helped his team earn first place at the 45th Annual Maine State Math Meet at the Augusta Civic Center on April 2.

Windham's Ari Anghel, 16. a sophomore at the Maine
School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, 
finished fifth among sophomores competing in the
Maine State Math Meet in Augusta on April 2. He
also was successfully able to recite Pi digits to 919
on National Pi Day on March 14. 
SUBMITTED PHOTO  

Ari Anghel, 16, a sophomore from Windham was part of the MSSM Ivory team, which is Maine’s only magnet high school and one of the few public boarding schools in the country. The MSSM team traveled to Augusta for The Maine State Math Meet drawing the top math students from around Maine to competitively demonstrate their understanding of challenging math concepts.

After obtaining the highest total score in the state during the five regular math meets, MSSM’s Ivory team entered the state meet with high expectations.

The MSSM Ivory math team was made up of 10 students from the school including Anghel, who placed fifth overall in the competition for high school sophomores.

Vanda Madore, one of the MSSM Ivory math team coaches, said that the students should be proud of their accomplishments at the Maine State Math Meet.

"In addition to strong individual performances, I’m most proud of the team effort demonstrated in the two team rounds where MSSM pulled ahead,” Madore said. “We won the highest honors that we could, which were First place in Regional, First place in Division A, and First place at State. You can't do better than that. There are many very good individual awards that students got because of their scores. Just as a coach, I find that winning as a team is wonderful."

His award from the state math meet was in addition to his reciting Pi to 919 digits on Pi Day at his school on March 14.

School officials say that Anghel exemplifies the caliber of students drawn to MSSM, where academic excellence and a passion for mathematics converge.

“Last year, as a freshman, Ari stunned onlookers by reciting Pi to 500 digits. This year, the sights were set even higher to nearly double their previous record, captivating the audience with mathematical virtuosity,” said Ryan McDonald, Director of Admissions and Summer Programs for the Maine School of Science and Mathematics. “Ari's ambition is attending the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), propelled by their passion for mathematics nurtured at MSSM.”

Anghel said he remains committed to shattering the school record for reciting Pi digits.

“It's just a matter of keep going at it, if that makes sense,” he said. “So long as you keep going, eventually you'll make more and more progress until you get further and further. I'm glad I got that far. It would have been nice to go a bit further to get the record, but 919 is definitely a good record to go to."

He said he practiced for several hours and that his goal was to reach 1,300 Pi digits.

“I practiced that much, but I messed up part of the way there,” Anghel said. “My goal for next year is to get over 1,300 digits and set the new school record."

The current record is 1,248 digits.

MSSM provides a rigorous STEM-based curriculum in a residential setting where learning is celebrated by the student and adult community. Students interact with teachers in and out of the classroom and have unique opportunities to explore courses and topics they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

MSSM’s highly motivated students begin their academic journeys in schools throughout the state, a partnership that MSSM values and appreciates, and come to MSSM to build upon that strong foundation to excel and thrive in an environment where they can find their place and go beyond.

The Maine Association of Math Leagues (MAML) is the organization that sponsors the numerous math competitions in Maine. MAML promotes innovative solutions to difficult problems through analytical thinking and team-based math competitions.

Participating schools can send up to 10 “mathletes” and one alternate who work through difficulties both individually and collaboratively. The solutions are revealed after each round and students may appeal if they believe they have a valid solution.

The topics range from Algebra 1 to Pre-Calculus and require students to have both academic skills as well as the ability to work as a team. <