March 31, 2021

Eight Decorah High School Students earned distinguished honors in the 23^rd Annual High School Mathematical Contest in Modeling (HiMCM). Being recognized as Honorable Mention were the teams of Jacob Magner, Daniel Skrade, Ethan Stravers, and Max Wilson as well as Justin Berlage, Peter Essa, Nathaniel Myers, and Henry Weis. Sponsor Allysen Lovstuen says, “I am proud of all of the students who participated. This contest requires interdisciplinary thinking, and the students demonstrated strong problem-solving, critical thinking, research, and writing skills. The was the first year of participation for each of the honored teams; I look forward to seeing how they compete in the future.”

A total of 779 teams, with up to 4 students each, from 302 schools and 20 countries/regions competed in the 23^rd Annual HiMCM, which was made possible by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications (COMAP). All teams worked at their own schools within the contest window of November 4-17, 2020. Each high school team chose from two modeling problems offered, and then they constructed their solutions. The judges were impressed with all the teams’ creativity and ingenuity in mathematical modeling, and in their ability to explain their strategies and problem-solving techniques in clear terms.

COMAP commends schools for their efforts. Decorah High School had a total of 26 students participate. Earning recognition as Successful Participants include the following: Abby Hanson, Alysa Hanson, Keely Hermanson, Anna Tallier, Grace Gerleman, Sage Wedmann, Aanaiya Weston, Mason Cote, Simon Kutz, Aidan Nalean-Carlson, Lucas Arendt, Gabriel Hiner, Anders Lovstuen, Simon Mumford, Tyler Irwin, Noah Lovelace, David Olson, and Peter Wilson.