Mu Alpha Theta officers, pictured from left to right: secretary Andrew Vuong, treasurer Matthew Miceli, president Harrison Millar, and vice president Steven Sellers.

Thirty-one Blue Jays represented Jesuit Mu Alpha Theta and Chi Alpha Mu in the Ben Franklin Math Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 14. Several Blue Jays earned individual top five finishes, as well as high team honors.

Competing against 14 other schools, Jesuit took home the second place overall sweepstakes trophy.

Individual honors were earned in the following categories: Caden Swain took 1st place in Algebra I and Peter James earned 5th place in Geometry.

Honorable Mention was awarded to Garrett Crumb in Algebra II and Christian Gonzalez in Advanced Math.

First place team honors in the Math Bowl competition were awarded to the following: the Algebra I team, comprised of Max Holmes, Tom Levy, Christian Nguyen, and Colby Zito; the Algebra II team, comprised of Nathan Alvarez, Michael Farrugia, David Gravolet, and Caleb Rogers; and the Advanced Math team, comprised of Samy Amkieh, Christian Gonzalez, Charles Korndorffer, and Baasel Syed.

The Geometry team, consisting of Bradley Fugetta, Christopher Vuong, Aidan Walker, and Jack Zvonek, earned the third place trophy.

Mu Alpha Theta is a national high school and junior college honorary mathematics club designed to meet the challenge of reaching out to our academically talented students and turning them on to mathematics. Members are students who have completed four semesters of college preparatory mathematics and in addition have completed or are enrolled in a fifth semester mathematics course, providing their mathematics work was done with distinction (minimum B average). The main focus of Mu Alpha Theta is the interaction of our chapter with those of other area schools. This is accomplished through monthly district meetings, local tournaments, and an annual state convention. MAΘ is co-moderated by Ms. Jo Ann Schexnayder and Ms. Khanh Nguyen.

Chi Alpha Mu, standing for Creative Adventures in Mathematics, is the National Junior Mathematics Club for middle schools. Founded in 1967, the organization was reactivated by Mu Alpha Theta in 2008 to promote enjoyment and understanding of mathematics by middle school students. Chi Alpha Mu is moderated by Ms. Leslie Merritt.