🦫 Upstate NY Math Team: ARML recap

Jun 15, 2025

Upstate New York Math Team

Mathematical Problem Solving

Dear Upstate New York Math Team,

We competed! Our two teams and two alternates traveled to State College, Pennsylvania, to participate in the 2025 American Regions Math League (ARML) competition.

We are strengthening as a team; we placed 13th and 37th in the B Division, and our alternates’ team placed 2nd in the Alternate Division. Our highest scoring student was Benjamin Song, a 9th grader at Pittsford Sutherland High School near Rochester (Monroe County), who correctly solved all individual problems and made it to the tiebreakers.

Read on for information from our press release! (Let me know if you have seen this published in your local media.)

I want to mention one other achievement: this year we secured our status as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, and so your financial support is now tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Our webpage now features a DONATE button in the top right corner, and I’ve placed a copy of the button below. Your gift will allow us to grow as an organization and accomplish more in the next cycle.

Equally valuable - please volunteer your time. Our team needs drivers, chaperones, proctors and graders during the ARML weekend (my deepest gratitude to the many parents who traveled to ARML with me, Coach Villani and Coach Babbitt). During the school year there are many ways that you can help us succeed. Please get in touch if you are interested.

Sincerely,

Japheth

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Japheth Wood is a coach for the Upstate New York Math Team and also a math professor at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY.

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Press Release

UPSTATE NEW YORK – June 6, 2025 – The Upstate New York Math Team, composed of 32 of the region's most advanced high school math students, demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork at the recent American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) competition held at Penn State University on May 31. The team faced off against thousands of talented peers from across the nation in one of the country's premier high school mathematics contests.

"We are incredibly proud of all our students' dedication and their impressive performance at ARML," said Dr. Japheth Wood, Lead Coach for the Upstate New York Math Team and math professor at Bard College. "They've showcased not only their strong mathematical abilities but also their commitment to teamwork and problem-solving at a national level."

The Upstate New York Math Team fielded two main teams and two alternates, with students representing diverse regions across the state, including the Albany area, Ithaca, Corning, Rochester, the Mid-Hudson Valley, the Buffalo area, Rockland County, and the Southern Tier. Team Captain Jacob C. from Corning led one of the main teams.

The Upstate New York B1 team scored a total of 150 points, securing an impressive 13th place in the B Division. The Upstate New York B2 team also performed well, scoring 89 points and earning 37th place in the B Division. Additionally, the team's alternates, competing as Alternates PSU 1, achieved an outstanding 2nd place in the alternate division with 75 points.

Individual brilliance shone through as well. Benjamin Song, a 9th grader at Pittsford Sutherland High School near Rochester (Monroe County), was the highest-scoring student for Upstate New York, solving all 8 Individual problems and correctly answering the second tiebreaker problem in just 113 seconds. This exceptional performance secured him 47th place among all ARML students nationally.

The Upstate New York Math Team, with a legacy stretching back to ARML's founding in 1976, has a storied history of success, including past first-place finishes. The team's mission is to promote and support educational and personal enrichment in mathematics by fostering an ongoing community of math competitors from upstate New York. Team members are selected through a highly competitive process, evaluating their performance in contests like the AMC and NYSML. Beyond the competition, ARML provides invaluable opportunities for students to network, engage with higher-level math, and strengthen the pre-college math community in New York State.

The Upstate New York Math Team is incorporated as a nonprofit and relies on the direct support of families. The organization is actively seeking gifts, donations, and volunteers from individuals and organizations across Upstate New York and beyond to continue its mission of encouraging participation and creating opportunities for mathematical excellence, especially for under-resourced students.

About the Upstate New York Math Team: The Upstate New York Math Team, Inc. is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and supporting educational and personal enrichment in mathematics. Its mission is to identify and bring together an ongoing community of math competitors from upstate New York for training, mentorship, and competition, fostering a love for mathematics and encouraging students of all backgrounds to pursue excellence in the field.

About ARML: The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) is an annual team-based mathematics competition for high school students, established in 1976. It is one of the largest and most prestigious math competitions in the United States, attracting thousands of the nation's brightest young mathematicians to multiple sites across the country.

Accolades

Congratulations to all 32 of our team members, especially to our 8 graduating seniors:

Jacob, June, and Lucy from Corning-Painted Post High School
Celene and Taran from Ithaca High School
Daniel and Max from Spackenkill High School
Joey from Tappan Zee High School

Kudos to Benjamin, our top-scoring individual student this year.

Deepest gratitude to our ARML Day volunteers Jifeng, Jing, Sophia, Ying, Yong, Zhaohui and drivers Alexander, Changliang, Heather, Steven, Peng, Sabrina and fellow coaches Anthony and Mabbitt.

Also, a shout out to our Selection Committee members Alexandra, Coach Anthony, Coach Finn, Coach Japheth, Coach Mabbitt, Richard, and Sourav.