CHICAGO –– Ever since he participated in his first MathCON Finals last year, Michael Vanden Berg was ready to return to McCormick Place. The Gateway Science Academy - St. Louis student had been preparing all school year for the event, going to Saturday school and taking weekly practice tests offered by MathCON.
Vanden Berg went into this year’s finals searching for his first MathCON national title but he was more excited to return to what he had found the year before: a community of math enthusiasts just like him.
“Last year, Michael told me, ‘I found my people here,’” Vanden Berg’s father said. “This is a place where other kids go who enjoy math for fun the way he does. Not everyone shares that passion but the hundreds of kids who come [to MathCON] do so he’s excited to be back.”
Sharing and exploring the wonders of math is the reason why the MathCON Finals is held every year. That enthusiasm was on display once again as over 650 of North America’s top mathletes came to Chicago to compete in a wide array of math-related events throughout the day.
“This was one of the most special MathCON events I have ever been a part of,” MathCON Program Director Nik Hallberg said. “Between the competitions, guest appearances and bonding in between events, the energy here today was incredible. I’m so proud of the kids. They raise the standard for excellence every year and today was no exception.”
CAPTION: Students pose in front of MathCON sign on May 10th after competing in the MathCON Final Test
From Ontario to North Carolina to California, students came from across the continent to compete in the MathCON Final Test. After edging out over 33,000 MathCON participants, the top percentile of students qualified for the event where they had to solve 32 challenging equations in just 100 minutes without a calculator.
Raghav Arun, who won a gold medal in the ninth grade division in last year’s MathCON Finals, said being more familiar with the format helped put him over the top in the 10th grade level this year.
“I’m so happy to be a MathCON national champion,” Raghav said. “I worked really hard to improve from last year and I’m glad that I was able to win here today.”
MathCON National Champions (Final Test)
- 12th Grade: Sanjay Ravishankar, California
- 11th Grade: Aryan Raj, Virginia
- 10th Grade: Raghav Arun, North Carolina
- 9th Grade: Christopher Sakaliyski, Illinois
- 8th Grade: Kenneth Sun, Massachusetts
- 7th Grade: Rishabh Rajesh, Illinois
- 6th Grade: Hudson Jones, North Carolina
- 5th Grade: Naveen Chenicheri, Washington
- 4th Grade: Andy Liu, North Carolina
The final test is not the only event that makes MathCON a grand spectacle every year. The Rubik’s Cube Challenge (a MathCON staple) had the crowd buzzing as 100 students went head to head to see who could solve a rubik’s cube the fastest. Parents also joined in on the fun and competed against the students in Game 24, a challenge where participants creatively use addition, subtraction, multiplication and division to reach the number 24 before their opponent.
“That experience was very humbling,” one parent who participated in Game 24 said laughing. “I thought I was smarter than a fifth grader. Not anymore!”
In the latter half of the day, MathCON participants and their parents filled up the convention center hall to watch performers like the Jesse White Tumblers and "mathemagician" Sidney Friedman light up the stage. They also got to hear from Carnegie Mellon University professor Po-Shen Loh deliver a lecture about the importance of math and being a curious problem solver.
In a time where funding for education programs is up in the air, Loh spoke passionately about young people seeking out opportunities like MathCON to push the bounds of their intellectual capabilities.
“Was it useful? Yes, it was gymnastics for my brain,” Loh said of the math contests he participated in when he was younger. “It made it so that if I were to look at any complicated situation in the future, it didn’t make me scared of not knowing where to start like I felt when I did math contests.
“That’s the value of math contests like MathCON––being able to solve problems we aren’t used to being able to solve.”
CAPTION: Mathemagician Sidney Friedman interacting with students during his performance at 2025 MathCON Finals
Loh would be comforted by the level of enthusiasm students have for MathCON, as many made their way back after participating in previous years. One parent from rural Texas said MathCON is one of the few places that gave her daughter access to “rigorous but fun” math programming while another from New York mentioned their son talked about it all year.
Holly Speranza, a ninth grader from Rhode Island, came to Chicago for her fourth MathCON this year and has loved being a part of the community ever since she signed up for the program in middle school.
“It’s super fun because there’s not as much of that where I am from,” Holly said, referring to people being as passionate about math as her. “I’m not in a big math school even in a state where there’s a lot of people who compete in math competitions. It’s just fun being around people who have the same interests as me.”
On a day full of excitement and friendly competition, this year’s MathCON Finals was a blast for everyone involved. One middle schooler already has his eyes on next year’s prize.
“You’re going to be interviewing me next year!” he yelled as he was exiting the event. “I’m coming back for that trophy!”
Interested in participating in MathCON? You don’t have to wait until next spring to get in on the action. MathCON still has open spots available for its summer math camp in Chicago in June. Check out our website for more info about the program and MathCON Summer Camp.
