Bergan students fare well at UNL Math Day

A group of students from Archbishop Bergan Catholic High School had a successful showing at last week’s University of Nebraska-Lincoln Math Day.

Bergan finished second out of approximately 30 teams in Class C in the test-taking portion of the competition and also captured second in the Math Bowl during the Nov. 12 competition.

“It’s a great experience, a great day,” said Bergan math chairman Chris Paulson, who took 14 students to Lincoln. “A lot of learning takes place and our kids really enjoy it.”

Paulson said 1,400 to 1,500 students from all over the state were at the Math Day.

All of the students took a PROBE 1 test, which Paulson said goes above and beyond the math students would normally learn in high school.

“It’s taking that math you learn in a classroom and thinking outside the box with it,” Paulson said.

The top three scores for each school then are used to determine where a team finishes. Freshman T.J. Fryklind and seniors

Kurtis Kammerer and Nick Lassek had the top scores for Bergan.

The top 50 scorers from all classes then advanced to take a PROBE 2 test. Fryklind, who had the highest score in Class C, was among those that advanced.

“He’s very sharp mathematically and very gifted as far as quick thinking,” Paulson said.

Omaha Brownell-Talbot finished first in Class C in the test-taking competition.

In the Math Bowl, teams of three competed against each other and had to buzz in to answer 15 questions.

Bergan’s team of Fryklind, Kammerer, Nick Lassek and sophomore Garrett Lassek were unbeaten until facing off against Grand Island Central Catholic in the double-elimination competition.

Bergan then beat Brownell-Talbot -- a traditional powerhouse at the competition -- before falling to GICC in the finals.

Both matches against GICC were decided on either the final question or a tie-breaker question, Paulson said.

“We were right there,” he said. “We were very close to doing it.”

It’s the fourth year Bergan has gone to the day-long competition in Lincoln.

Last year the Bergan team was third in the test-taking and second in the Math Bowl.

“We’ve had some success doing this now,” Paulson said. “We now have kids that go down there focused and want to do good.”