Brookfield East has a diverse arrangement of clubs and extracurriculars. One such club that recently wrapped up its season is the Spartangents, our competitive math team. The team consists of a JV and Varsity division. Both are coached by Mr. Carini.

Competitions consist of an individual round first, with three sections with three problems each: arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. “Arithmetic is easily my favorite,” member Nora Brazauskas (9) explained that she enjoys the “diversity in questions and the abstract thinking that comes with it.”

The individual round is followed by a team round of six questions, which competitor Hasini Manne (9) described as her favorite part of the meets: “Usually the JV team finishes all 6 of the problems and starts talking about random things [and gossiping].”

After the team round, participants would move to the awards ceremony. Medals would be awarded to the top three finishers in the individual round and trophies awarded to the top two or three teams. “I love how excited all of the team members get when anyone wins an award,” Brazauskas said. Brazauskas and Manne have both earned medals in multiple meets. Additionally, every meet found Brookfield East placing in the top five for the team round, individual round, or both.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the team’s success, Manne shared that the math team was “Not [a big commitment] at all, it’s 11 meetings for a whole year. A meeting a week before the meet, and then the meet, in total we have 5 meets.”

Manne elaborates that winning was one of the most rewarding parts of being a Spartangent, but she also enjoyed meeting new people from several schools. The idea of competitive math may seem boring at first, but the flexible commitment and team-building experience make it all the more fun. With the season coming to a close, we congratulate our the Spartangents on their accomplishments throughout the season.