The Norwin Math Team competed at Franklin Regional in the annual 2025 Calcusolve Competition at Franklin Regional on Wednesday, March 19, and won first place. Senior Thomas Gaydos took overall first place in the individual competition with teammates Ethen Culbertson, Philip Dove, Hanna Klingensmith, Justin McNelly, Kathryn Metzger, Henry Peters, Emma Reese, Matthew Rivera, and Max Snyder.
Almost all of the students who participate in the Calcusolve Competition are in Mr. Oestreich’s College in High School Honors Calculus 2 class—leading to advanced math skills where they got the chance to show off their knowledge at Franklin Regional. As a part of being in the advanced Calc 2 class, many of these students are also a part of Norwin’s Math Team, participating frequently in regional math competitions. During the competition, the students had to answer 9 questions ranging from a variety of math topics — from algebra to calculus.
“We competed in teams of four,” said senior Emma Reese. “We answered the majority of questions individually, and then collaborated on 1 team problem at the end of the competition. Our points were combined for the final score.
After answering a majority of math questions individually, the team members in each respective team answered one larger question at the end of the competition. Ultimately, this last question determined the winner.
“The last question was a team question where we had to find the coordinates of a circle, and I got 7 out of 9 questions right individually,” said senior Thomas Gaydos, the winner of the 2025 Calcusolve competition.
Gaydos’s team was composed of seniors Phil Dove, Max Snyder, Justin McNelly, and Henry Peters. Upon winning the competition, the students were presented with a certificate.
Initially, Gaydos was an alternate for the Math Team because he is not in Mr. Oestreich’s Calculus 2 class. He was chosen to substitute another student who could not make it to the competition on March 19.
“I am not on the Math Team,” said Gaydos. “I was an alternate because one of the people on the math team wasn’t able to make it so I replaced them.”
Despite being an alternate for the competition, Thomas Gaydos ended up taking first place in the overall individual 2025 Calcusolve competition.
“It was great to win because I enjoyed the competition,” said Gaydos. “It challenged me to think outside the box to come up with the answers.”
Many of the students who participated in the Math Team and went to the Calcusolve competition are interested in math careers in the future. However, some are not and use the Math Team as a way to challenge themselves academically.
“I don’t intend to pursue a career in math,” said senior Emma Reese, “but I do know that my involvement in Calc 2 in general will help me. It’s always a good idea to problem solve and challenge myself, and Calc 2 has been a great way to do that!”
