State: the dream for any high school competitor. The biggest stage in Minnesota for students to show their talents, dedication and hard work. Many sports teams work all year to compete on these stages, which include huge arenas such as the Xcel Energy Center, the Metrodome and Target Center. For St. Paul Academy and Summit School’s Upper School Math team, their State goals point to South St. Paul High School.

After a successful regular season, the Upper School Math Team hoped to extend their winning streak at the State Tournament on Mar. 10 at South St. Paul High School.

The team will face some tough competition. This includes top ranked Cotter High School of Winona, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, and the Marshall School of Duluth. SPA is in Tier Two, the small school section.

Teams in the meet are either the top schools in their division or the teams with the highest overall score throughout the season.

“At this point we’re simply excited to have continued the tradition of going to state, which has been going on for… many years. We have a strong team and we have good chances of scoring within the top three. That would be great,” senior Math Team captain Vittorio Orlandi said.

The team placed second in the Tri-Metro conference, only behind rival Blake. They also placed in the top three at all five meets this season, including a first place finish at the last meet of the season, which the team hosted at SPA on Feb. 10.

At the end of the season, junior Neerja Thakkar placed ninth individually in the division and Orlandi placed tenth.
The members that compete at meets are a part of the scoring team, which occasionally changes its lineup from meet to meet.

While some members never participate in meets, as members of the non-scoring team, they add to the spirit and youth of the team.

As the season progressed, the team found their groove and continued to excel at meets. The teammates found their niches in the four competition events, the team refocused group dynamics after the graduation of alumni Sam Wood, Henry Swanson and Jeremy Tong last year.

“It took us a while to achieve a similar team dynamic to the one we had honed in pretty well last year, but by the second half of the season we were a lot more adjusted,” Thakkar said.

The team is also confident that Upper School Mathematics teacher and veteran Math Team coach Bill Boulger will guide the team to triumph.

“As always, Mr. Boulger is absolutely incredible. He’s everything the Math Team could want and more. He has the perfect balance of teaching and guiding us, while still letting us explore concepts on our own. He’s a truly wonderful teacher and it’s a complete honor for all of us to be coached by him,” Orlandi said.