Bishop Union High School's Junior Varsity Mathletes secured a decisive victory at a recent competition held on their home campus. On Wednesday, September 30th, the BUHS team outscored five other schools, achieving a total of thirty-seven points to clinch first place in the meet.
Several students contributed significantly to the team's winning score. Banyan Fulkerson led the team, earning First Place with nine points. Tulika Deb and Fu Chuaewongprom both achieved Second Place, each contributing eight points. Hazel Hays and Joy Montano each earned seven points, securing Third Place ribbons.
Further strengthening the team's performance, Meika Borow and Liam Livingston each scored six points, earning Fourth Place ribbons. Ali Rainville, Trent Buchholz, Salomon Dominguez, and Dawson Lawrence each scored five points. Morgan Tetrick, Cosmo Schwartz, Sophia Albrecht, Jesse Cokeley, and Django Davidson each contributed four points to the team's impressive total. The source also notes that Sara Cardelas, Leah Crall, Olivia Daulton, Kaitlyn Girardin, and Aylin Leiva put in their fair share of effort for the team.
The Mathletes competitions are structured into five rounds. Each round is a timed event, lasting ten minutes, during which competitors are tasked with solving two problems. These problems are described as "deceptively simple but often turn out to be very complex." An example provided to illustrate the type of challenge faced by the students involved calculating the weight of mercury in a container based on the weight of water it can hold. Specifically, if mercury weighs 13 ⅗ times as much as water and a container holds 6 ¼ pounds of water, students would need to determine how many pounds of mercury it could hold.
Coach DeeDee Buchholz provides guidance and support to the JV Mathletes, fostering their confidence in tackling difficult problems. Buchholz expressed her enthusiasm for her role, stating, "I love coaching Mathletes here at BUHS." She elaborated on the positive team environment, noting, "I get to know these awesome students in such a cool way because we have fun doing math together and every single one of us wants our team to be victorious, so putting in the effort for the sake of our team and our community is a unanimous vote." Buchholz concluded with a confident outlook for the future, remarking, "This is such a strong JV team that I feel certain we will earn League Champions again this year!"
The Bishop Union High School Junior Varsity Mathletes are preparing for their next competition. They are scheduled to compete again on Wednesday, November 18th, 2026, at Boron High School, where they will look to continue their successful season.
