Published: March 18, 2008 05:44 pm            

Oak Hill High School wins math competition

County rivalries are alive, even outside the athletic realm.

Oak Hill High School senior J.T. Molchanoff says his school’s team win in the recent Fayette County Math Field Day for grades 10-12 was made more special in light of which school nabbed runner-up status.

“It (winning) is always good, especially since Fayetteville was our competition,” he said of the Pirates, who had claimed the team title the previous year.

Molchanoff was the top finisher in the recent field day, as nine Red Devils placed in the top 14. Other OHHS participants included: Jacob Scott — 3rd; Emily Pino — 4th; Cory Smith — 5th; Jennifer Williams — 8th; Michelle Fisher — 9th; Jackson Fox — 10th; Jessica Nuckels — 11th place, 1st alternate; and Sam Pogorelski — 14th place, 4th alternate.

Jonathan Stewart, the lone sophomore member of the team, also contributed to the first-place trophy win for OHHS. Stewart was the county’s highest-scoring sophomore.

Other top 10 finishers were: Anthony Shillingburg, Fayetteville, 2nd; Leah Kelly, Fayetteville, 6th; and Aidan Hodge, Midland Trail, 7th.

Molchanoff, who competed as an alternate in last year’s state tournament, says he was taken aback by posting the best score among 50 participants at the county level this year.

“It caught me by surprise,” he said. “I really didn’t expect it.

“I didn’t feel like I had studied well enough.”

The county event included a written test that featured a variety of mathematics problems (posed by WVU Tech professors) and took about 45 minutes to complete, as well as a short-answer segment. The top 10 qualify for the RESA IV Regional Math Field Day April 4 at WVU Tech in Montgomery, and winners there advance to state competition. The regional event will also include a team competition.

Oak Hill’s advisor, Marsha Stiltner, said she is thrilled by her school’s progress.

“I love working with these kids,” she said. “They are very smart students who are involved in everything.”

Oak Hill alternates at the county level were Kelly Lyke, Holly Richmond and Barbara Maynor.

The math field day students will be recognized at a coming meeting of the Fayette County Board of Education.



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Youngsters in grades 4-9 participated in their own county math field day. Results for all grades are as follows:



Grades 4-9



Individual and Team

Grade 4

1) Trevor Wood, Oak Hill Elementary; 2) Arthur Antonakos, Sts. Peter and Paul; 3) Noah Riner, Sts. Peter and Paul



Grade 5

1) Kayleigh Neely, Meadow Bridge Elementary; 2) Tyler Blake, Fayetteville Elementary; 3) Allison Hedvall, Fayetteville Elementary



Grade 6

1) Joel Bracken, Collins Middle; 2) Dillon Pomeroy, Meadow Bridge Elementary; 3) River Pullens, Fayetteville Elementary



Grade 7

1) Michael McGraw, Fayetteville High; 2) Josh Lokant, Collins Middle; 3) McKayla Burgess, Collins Middle



Grade 8

1) Matt Holliday, Collins Middle; 2) Alex White, Sts. Peter and Paul; 3) Stephanie Broughman, Collins Middle



Grade 9

1) Connie Callison, Meadow Bridge High; 2) Matt Lokant, Oak Hill High; 3) Katelyn Neil, Fayetteville High

Team

Grade 4

1) Oak Hill Elementary; 2) Sts. Peter and Paul; 3) Danese Elementary



Grade 5

1) Fayetteville Elementary; 2) Meadow Bridge Elementary; 3) Valley Elementary



Grade 6

1) Collins Middle; 2) Fayetteville Elementary; 3) Meadow Bridge Elementary



Grade 7

1) Collins Middle; 2) Fayetteville High; 3) Mt. Hope High



Grade 8

1) Collins Middle; 2) Sts. Peter and Paul; 3) Meadow Bridge High



Grade 9

1) Meadow Bridge High; 2) Fayetteville High; 3) Oak Hill High



Team Rank

1) Oak Hill High (400); 2) Fayetteville (192); 3) Midland Trail (119); Meadow Bridge (47); Valley (7); Mt. Hope (0)



Individual Winners

1) James Molchanoff, Oak Hill; 2) Anthony Shillingburg, Fayetteville; 3) Jacob Scott, Oak Hill; 4) Emily Pino, Oak Hill; 5) Cory Smith, Oak Hill; 6) Leah Kelly, Fayetteville; 7) Aidan Hodge, Midland Trail; 8) Jennifer Williams, Oak Hill; 9) Michelle Fisher, Oak Hill; 10) Jackson Fox, Oak Hill; Alt. 1) Jessica Nuckels, Oak Hill; Alt. 2) Ashley Walker, Midland Trail; Alt. 3) Tommy Stull, Midland Trail; Alt. 4) Sam Pogorelski, Oak Hill

Top 10th grader) Jonathan Stewart, Oak Hill

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