With practices held four days a week after school under the guidance of coaches Owen Glennon and Jeff Nicholson, the RedHawk math team is preparing for the upcoming Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics (ICTM) regional meet.

The RedHawks placed first at in-person Catholic League competitions hosted at Montini on Oct. 16 and Mother McAuley on Nov. 13. The league cancelled the Jan. 15 meet because of concerns over the uptick in COVID cases in Illinois at that time.

“Our main goal every year is to make it to the state competition,” Nicholson said. “We finished in the top 10 last year and with the crew that we have on the team, I anticipate that we would go on to state.”

Junior Walter Fleming shared his goals for this year’s math team season.

“This season I hope we win regionals and place in the top five in state as a team,” Fleming said. “Last year I placed fourth at

regionals in geometry, but this year I’m going for top three. I hope to help the team in whatever way possible to accomplish these goals.”

Senior Kelly Hughes, another top student at previous regionals, hopes that the team will continue its winning tradition and that she will be a good leader for her teammates.

“At practice, we focus on more difficult problems that are likely to end up on [competition] tests,” Hughes said. “We practice to make sure that we feel comfortable working together and are an efficient team.”

The road to state begins with the ICTM regional meet on Feb. 26. which is being held remotely. Teams that win and individuals with high scores advance to the state finals in May, which will also be held remotely.

“I think the atmosphere of in-person competition makes it feel a little more serious,” Hughes said. “That’s why it’s important that we get used to competing virtually so the team can still perform at its best.”