Several students took part in the annual Wayne County Fair High School Math Competition sponsored by the Wayne Community College Mathematics Department, Wayne County high schools, and the Wayne County Fair.

The competition consisted of teams of students from local high schools who faced off to answer questions in a game show format. The first round emphasized math trivia and mental math, and the second round focused on mathematical calculations.

Students tackled algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, and trigonometry questions. With calculators prohibited, students relied solely on their critical thinking and communication skills.

The contest was divided into two divisions. The results for each division are:

Division I:
First Place: Goldsboro High School (Youdelie Bastien and Carter Battle (EWHS))
Second Place: Eastern Wayne High School (Charles Brumley and Roberto Marquez Gil)
Third Place: Charles B. Aycock High School (Michael Lane and Daniel Tung)
Fourth Place: Spring Creek High School (Diego Castaneda and Roger Goodspeed)

Division II:
First Place (Tiebreaker winner): Wayne School of Technical Arts (Paul Juarez and Jonathan Torres)
Second Place: Wayne School of Engineering (Samir Tinajero)
Third Place: Wayne Early Middle College High School (Jay Hernandez Jaime and Jacob Shivar)

For the first time, this year’s competition held a Winner vs. Winner final round with 10 mathematical computation questions for the winners of each division. Goldsboro High School emerged as the 2024 County Champion.

The Foundation of WCC provides scholarships for the first–, second-, and third-place winners in both divisions to assist their first semester at the College after high school graduation.

“Wayne Community College’s Mathematics Department is always excited to partner with the Wayne County Fair and our local high schools each year for the competition,” said WCC Mathematics Department Chair Katina Davis. “The contest this year was full of energy, excitement, and quick-thinking problem solvers! Most importantly, it continued the tradition of promoting mathematics within our community,”