Crayton students win MATHCOUNTS again
Contributed by Richland School District One

Students from Crayton Middle School won the state MATHCOUNTS competition for the fourth time in six years. (l- r) Kelsey Reamer, Elliott Chartock, Dusty Rivers and Hardie Cate along with Crayton math teacher John Rushman, who serves as team coach.

The numbers and the trophies keep adding up for Crayton Middle School's MATHCOUNTS team. For the fourth time in the last six years, they have been crowned South Carolina MATHCOUNTS state champions.

Under the leadership of veteran coach and math teacher John Rushman, Crayton students beat out the best and brightest from 13 schools across the state in this year's competition.

MATHCOUNTS is a national program that motivates middle school students to develop strong math skills through written and oral competitions. Top students advance to the state and ultimately, national level.

In overall scoring, Crayton students performed very well with Elliott Chartock placing first, followed by Hardie Cate who took the number two spot. Teammates Kelsey Reamer and Dusty Rivers placed 14th and 15th respectively. Hardie Cate also placed first in the COUNTDOWN Round. And now their sights are set on the national competition. Elliott and Hardie, along with Mr. Rushman, who also serves as the state MATHCOUNTS coach, have been invited to attend the National Competition in Denver, Colorado, May 8-11 as members of the South Carolina team.

Other members of the Crayton MATHCOUNTS team include Graham Chapman, Luke Thompson, Louis McElveen, Nicholas Spivey, Emma Stratton, Daniel Monteith, Greg Williams, and Raina Datt. Although only four members of the Crayton team could represent the school at the state competition, all the students met two mornings each week to practice and help their teammates prepare for the competition. Editors note: Crayton

Middle School students, coached by John Rushman, have won the State Competition in 1990, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, and 2008. Crayton has placed first at the regional competition seven of the last nine years and second place twice in the last nine years.