Grisham Middle School eighth-grade student Justin Xiao will be one of four Texas students representing the state at the national MATHCOUNTS competition in May.
Justin placed third in the state at the Texas MATHCOUNTS competition in March and has been training weekly with the Texas team in preparation for the national competition in Florida. Justin has been competing in MATHCOUNTS since he was in sixth grade and said he has worked hard to quickly answer math questions.
“I didn’t expect to do very well and thought if I just made the top 10 I would be happy,” Justin said. “I am happy I got third place and am looking forward to meeting new people at the national competition.”
MATHCOUNTS is a nonprofit organization that provides engaging math programs to United States middle school students of all ability levels in order to build confidence and improve attitudes toward math and problem solving, according to the organization.
“Earning a position to represent Texas at the national level is impressive and representative of Justin’s hard work,” Grisham Principal Paige Hadziselimovic said. “We are so proud of Justin and look forward to following his success at MATHCOUNTS nationals.”
