The 2018 Raytheon National MATHCOUNTS competition was held on May 14 in Washington, D.C. More than 100,000 students participated in local and state competitions that led up to this national event. See details about Plano ISD state and regional winners.

Rithvik Ganesh, Rice Middle School eighth grader, who earned one of the four places on the Texas State team, headed to the MATHCOUNTS National Competition where he and his team members competed against 224 competitors from 50 states, plus U.S. territories and teams from the U.S. State and Defense departments. Along with his teammates, Rithvik Ganesh won the first place team award. Texas has placed first at MATHCOUNTS national for three consecutive years.

Pictured at the competition are Charles W. Wampler Ph.D Chair, Technical Fellow, General Motors and Board of Directors, Mathcounts Foundation; Luke Robitaille (Euless, Texas); Jacob David (Fort Worth, Texas); Andrew Cai (Sugarland, Texas); Rithvik Ganesh (Rice Middle School, Plano ISD); and coach Michelle Nal. 

"This competition plays a vital role in getting middle school students excited about math, and interested in becoming the next generation of scientists and engineers," said Raytheon Chairman and CEO Tom Kennedy. "They are our future. The passion, enthusiasm and mastery demonstrated by all these competitors is truly inspiring." This year's competition was the 35th in the MATHCOUNTS Foundation's history.

About MATHCOUNTS Foundation

MATHCOUNTS is a nonprofit organization that strives to engage middle school students of all ability and interest levels in fun, challenging math programs, in order to expand their academic and professional opportunities. Middle school students exist at a critical juncture in which their love for mathematics must be nurtured, or their fear of mathematics must be overcome. For more than 30 years, MATHCOUNTS has provided free, high-quality resources to educators and enriching, extracurricular opportunities to students to lay a foundation for future success.