Tzouanakis Math Bowl places first in state
GREENCASTLE -- State championships in any sort of competition are difficult to come by, so what the Tzouanakis Intermediate School Math Bowl team did Thursday evening was truly remarkable.
The 14 students, competing in the regional competition at South Putnam's Central Elementary, answered 27 of a possible 28 problems correctly, missing only the last problem.
Not only was the score good enough to place TZ first in their region, they placed first among Class 3 schools statewide, edging out Carmel's College Wood Elementary.
"We're just really thrilled that the kids have done this well," coach Brad Phillips said.
Besides winning Class 3, TZ placed fifth among 457 schools statewide, including schools with sixth graders.
The school has a history of strong finishes in class, placing fourth last year, 11th in 2008 and 8th in 2007.
"Typically, we've been fortunate enough to be a top 10 team, but to win it is quite an achievement," Phillips said.
While Phillips is considered the team's head coach, he made sure to spread around the credit for the performance. He has assistant coaches in fellow TZ fourth grade teacher Amy Wheeler as well as Gayle Hansen, a mother of one of the team members. Hansen has a math background and volunteers her time.
Phillips said the credit goes to many other teachers in the school corporation.
"They didn't learn that in just this past eight weeks that we've practiced," he said. "It goes back to the primary schools here in Greencastle giving them a good base in math."