BUCKHANNON, W.Va. — The 50th Annual West Virginia State Mathematics Field Day was held on April 17-18, 2026, hosted by West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia. Operated and organized by the West Virginia State Math Field Day Organization (WVSMFDO), the event was sponsored in part by the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium and Hope Gas Community Grant.

West Virginia Wesleyan College mathematics faculty prepared all Grades 10-12 activities and scored two events. They also hosted an optional Friday evening activity for participants and families.

The event was for West Virginia students in 4th through 12th grades. Each of eight regions may send three students to represent their region in 4th through 9th grade levels and ten students to represent their region in the 10th through 12th grade competition. One hundred forty-two students from grades 4-9 and 79 students from grades 10-12 participated in the event.

The annual awards ceremony took place April 18 in the Wesley Chapel with more than 500 in attendance, including students, family members, West Virginia math teachers and Wesleyan math faculty and students.

From its origin in Braxton County in 1972, this West Virginia home-grown, all-volunteer competition has evolved and strives to afford students from public, private, parochial and charter schools in West Virginia an opportunity to participate in some manner. If counties choose to participate, their students engage at the school, county and regional levels, prior to the state level. Winners at each level progress to the next higher level. Winners at each level are chosen using activities which best serve that county or regional level of competition. A guidebook is provided for activities which are used at the state level.

West Virginia State Mathematics Field Day was established to promote increased student participation in classroom and extracurricular mathematics. These events stimulate greater interest for mathematics, recognize students who excel in mathematics and provide the opportunity for interaction between peers with common interests and abilities.

The inspiration for the development of the West Virginia State Mathematics Field Day is credited to a presentation, “The Laboratory Approach to Mathematics,” given by Dr. Kenneth P. Kidd from the University of Florida at the 1971 Annual Meeting of the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Jerry L. Jackson, Mathematics Director for Braxton County Schools, acting on Kidd’s comments that mathematics is truly an exciting and fun subject to study, organized a mathematics field day for the students of Braxton County in the spring of 1972.

After many visits with superintendents and other curriculum representatives in several central West Virginia counties, the first regional mathematics field day was held on May 25, 1973, in a National Guard armory. Students from Braxton County, Gilmer County, Harrison County Catholic Schools, Mineral County, Nicholas County, Raleigh County, Tucker County and Webster County participated.

The first West Virginia State Math Field Day for grades 4-9 was held on May 16, 1975, in conjunction with the West Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Meeting at Potomac State College. Events have been held each year since 1975 with the exception of 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID pandemic.

The past competitions rotated between various West Virginia Institutions of Higher Education. On the 50th anniversary, these institutions are to be recognized for their support, use of facilities, hospitality and donation of time spent creating tests for the Grade 10-12 competition. They are listed in order from highest frequency, as follows: West Virginia University, Concord University, West Virginia State University, Marshall University, West Virginia Wesleyan College, Shepherd University, Fairmont State University, West Liberty University, Bethany College, Davis & Elkins College, Glenville State University and Potomac State College.

Several of the current WVSMFDO members/organizers were participants in Math Field Day events at either the school, county, regional or state levels when they were in grades 4-12.

Counties are organized into regions for the competition as shown below.

• Region 1: Raleigh, Summers, Monroe, Mercer, McDowell, Wyoming.
• Region 2: Mason, Cabell, Wayne, Lincoln, Logan, Mingo.
• Region 3: Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Boone.
• Region 4: Braxton, Webster, Pocahontas, Nicholas, Fayette, Greenbrier.
• Region 5: Tyler, Pleasants, Wood, Ritchie, Wirt, Calhoun, Jackson, Roane.
• Region 6: Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel.
• Region 7: Monongalia, Marion, Preston, Harrison, Taylor, Tucker, Barbour, Doddridge, Lewis, Gilmer, Upshur, Randolph.
• Region 8: Pendleton, Grant, Hardy, Mineral, Hampshire, Morgan, Berkeley, Jefferson.

“All the activities have been selected according to the basic philosophy that mathematics is truly an exciting and challenging field of study,” according to Rowanne Shockey, WVSMFDO president. The State Mathematics Field Day event includes activities and games for grades 4-9 which are challenging and fun. The events in grades 4-9 include a written test, mental math activities, relays and estimation activities, which are both computational and physical in nature.

The activities for the students in grades 10-12 are patterned after those used in The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) which is a follow-up competition for grades 10-12. The individual events are an exam and short answer questions. In addition, each regional team competes in relays, a team power question and team questions to choose an overall region winner.

The West Virginia State Math Field Day competition is the official method to select the WV team competing in ARML. The WV team will attend ARML at Penn State University in May. The WV team will be comprised of the top 18 Grades 10-12 winners and the top two Grade 9 winners.

West Virginia University professors and ARML Coach Doug Squire meet with the WV team prior to ARML for a two-day tutoring/strategy session. Clark Metz and Cody Hood are assistant ARML Coaches. Other WVU Faculty who will be donating their time to work with the West Virginia team are as follows: Krista Bresock, Ryan Hansen, Gabe Tapia, Charis Tsikkou and student Presley Lucas.

The 2026 Grades 4-9 first through fifth place winners and Gamemaster winners were as follows:

Grade 4: 1) Blake Fuller — 8, 2) Toby Nguyen — 7, 3) Xinhe Xu — 7, 4) Nolan Shanholtzer — 2, 5) Elijah McClain — 1,

Gamemaster — Nolan Shanholtzer — 2

Grade 5: 1) Emma Lu — 7, 2) Xin Zhao — 6, 3) Rodger Lin — 3, 4) Eric Dai — 7, 5) Anir Nafai — 8, Gamemaster — Parker Allan Stone — 2

Grade 6: 1) Dan Nguyen — 7, 2) Xuanchen Ren — 1, 3) Pierino Silveri — 7, 4) Vedhik Venkatesh — 7, 5) Maddox Yohler — 8, Gamemaster — Xuanchen Ren — 1

Grade 7: 1) Luke Wan — 7, 2) Oscar Tortorelli — 2, 3) Xinxi Xu — 7, 4) Leon Vorst — 7, Gamemaster — Tobin McGuire — 6

Grade 8: 1) Nirav Nimbarte — 7, 2) Anna Song — 7, 3) Ethan Kim — 1, 4) Will Fullen — 7, 5) Coltyn Cantrell — 2, Gamemaster — Riya Sharma — 2

Grade 9: 1) Hope Wu — 3, 2) Goria Hu — 7, 3) Vibhuman Haricharan — 3, 4) Leo Grammer — 7, 5) Isabell Kim Tabone — 7, Gamemaster — Connor Stump — 1

Grades 4-9 Estimation Winner — Nolan Shanholtzer Grade 4 — Region 2

Team Winner Grades 4-9 — Region 7 Team members were Grade 4: Toby Nguyen, Teodor Prisneac, Xinhe Xu; Grade 5: Eric Dai, Emma Lu, Grady Thomas Walsh; Grade 6: Dan Nguyen, Pierino Silveri, Vedhik Venkatesh; Grade 7: Leon Vorst, Luke Wan, Xinxi Xu; Grade 8: Will Fullen, Nirav Nimbarte, Anna Song; Grade 9: Leo Grammer, Gloria Hu, Isabell Kim Tabone.

The first-place individual winner in Grades 10-12 was Leroy Song from Region 7. The first-place winner is awarded the Carl Cummings Memorial Trophy. It is a perpetual trophy and will be displayed at Leroy’s school for one year.

The Most Beneficial Team Member in Grades 10-12 was Wade Garber from Region 4. Wade was honored based upon a score calculated through a mathematical formula which incorporates regional placement, individual scores and team scores from both the regional and state level competitions.

In Grades 10-12, the top 30 winners in Grades 10-12 were recognized. Names and region numbers follow. 1) Leroy Song — 7, 2) Alexei Zhao — 6, 3) Caden Yao — 7, 4) Sanketh Guppi — 7, 5) Wade Garber — 4, 6) Ian Boord — 7, 7) Luke Hill — 3, 8) Jaxon Milam — 6, 9) Noah Ramey — 2, 10) Patrick Bragg — 5, 11) Sean Viteri — 8, 12) Wyatt Jordan — 2, 13) Mark Wang — 7, 14) Isaac Lanigan — 6, 15) Jaxson Davis — 3, 16) Zimeng Ren — 1, 17) Wade Lane — 7, 18) Kevin Dong — 7, 19) William J. Northey — 7, 20) Cadmon Kesecker — 8, 21) Conner Ray — 6, 22) Andrew Viteri — 8, 23) Thomas Farrell — 2, 24) Bradyn Woodard — 5, 25) Patrick Robinson — 1, 26) Isaiah Vellaithambi — 3, 27) Connor Westfall — 3, 28) Sophie Cunningham — 6, 29) Blake Jones — 5, 30) Bhavya Patel — 4

Team Winner Grades 10-12 — Region 7 Team members were Ian Boord, Kevin Dong, Sanketh Guppi, Wade Lane, Nathaniel Linger, William J. Northey, Leroy Song, Mark Wang, Angela Yao and Caden Yao.

West Virginia Wesleyan College Math Faculty site coordinator was Pam Wovchko. West Virginia Wesleyan Math Faculty who wrote and graded tests were John Epler, Jesse Oldroyd, Pam Wovchko. The West Virginia Wesleyan Math Field Day Planning Committee was John Epler, Jesse Oldroyd, Ed Wovchko, Pam Wovchko. Additional West Virginia Wesleyan faculty members who assisted were Kelsey Aldrich and Don Tobin.

West Virginia Wesleyan students assisting were Marimo Akita, Sydnee Clark, Kenzie Clutter, Arianna Crowley, Keirston Daley, Mostafa Darwish, Addie Davis, Dane Heath, Macy Helmick, Taylor Hess, Kiylei Holloway, Ignatius Jewell, Sante Klosterman, Mackenzie McNeil, Jannah Miller, Nasif Mohammed, Kiran Nandigama, Lanna Nguyen, Jose III Olaco, McKenzie Reynolds, Autumn Russell, Omar Sadek, Lis Shala, Katelyn Shaw, Chris Schimmel, Sophie Shoemaker, Madison Stokes, Sneha Sundaraneedi, Kaylie Toler, Alyson Vandall and Makenzie Williams.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Drivers who deliver Coors, Miller, and Modello beer to stores and bars across 30 West Virginia counties remain on the picket line in a labor dispute with distributor The Beverage Market.

Members of Teamsters Local 175 went on strike this week only days after rejecting the latest contract offer from the company.

“We’ve reached out to to try and get dates to resume negotiations multiple times, but the company has not responded and continues to refuse to provide dates to sit down again,” said Teamsters Local 175 Secretary/Treasurer Luke Farley.

Members are bothered by many of the concessions they say the company has demanded in their contract talks. There would be steep increases in the cost of health insurance, and steep reductions in retirement contributions and benefits. However, Farley said it doesn’t end there.

“Those are two very big ones, but they’re not the only ones. They want certain categories of employees to actually go back in pay in addition to what they’d have to pay in increased costs for health insurance. It’s also on working conditions and things these employees have fought for 20 years or more to put in the contract and the company wants to do away with all of them,” he explained.

MetroNews reached out to officials with The Beverage Market and were provided the following statement:

“We value our employees and respect their right to organize and engage in collective bargaining. While we are disappointed that an agreement has not yet been reached, we remain committed to negotiating in good faith and finding a fair resolution that supports both our workforce and the long-term growth of our company.

During negotiations, the Teamsters Local 175 union has demanded the company to present a “last and best” offer. Because we believe there is still an opportunity to work together toward a mutually beneficial agreement, we have chosen not to take that step and instead remain committed to continued dialogue.

Our focus remains on continuing operations and serving our customers across West Virginia while working toward a resolution that is fair, responsible, and sustainable. We recognize the challenges this situation presents for everyone involved and are committed to moving forward thoughtfully and collaboratively. We remain hopeful that, through continued good-faith efforts on all sides, a positive path forward will be achieved.”

“They put out news clippings that they are committed to negotiating, but they only seem to tell the press that and not the union,” Farley said.

The workers are picketing outside the company’s operations in Sissonville and also handed out informational materials at the annual Foam at the Dome event in Charleston.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) — Every passenger traveling through the airport has a story and a meaningful reason to be heading to their destination.

But most passengers don’t know the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure they get there safely.

‘Behind the Journey’ is West Virginia International Yeager Airport’s campaign that helps passengers get a better understanding of airport operations and adds transparency and education to the travel experience.

The operations department is up early at 4 a.m. to search for foreign objects or debris that could create a dangerous situation for an aircraft.

“Our first job in the morning is to do a sweep of the entire airfield, the runway and the taxiways, just to make sure that there’s nothing on there that could puncture an aircraft tire or be sucked into an engine,” Joe Belcher, operations specialist, said.

Latest News:

Once the runway is clear and safe, passengers can enjoy their flight with peace of mind.

Elizabeth Lynn, who flies to New Jersey once a month for work on Breeze Airways, says she loves the experience she has at a regional airport.

“One experience I had, I didn’t get here in time. I have to check my bag. And they were nice enough to actually take my checked bag down and let it in for me because I showed up a little late,” Lynn said.

Ned and Hercules are working hard to keep birds away from the runway and brighten up a passenger’s day.

“They will also go through the terminal. They’ll visit employees. They’ll also visit any type of passengers that are in the lobby. They’ll do meet and greets. They do a lot of things. They stay pretty busy throughout the day,” Blecher said.

Paige Withrow, marketing officer at CRW, says the campaign educates passengers on how the airport systems work.

“It’s important for passengers to know what happens behind the scenes so that they know who to contact if something goes wrong while they’re traveling. So if their baggage is delayed, they know to contact their airline. If they have an issue during their travel, don’t know exactly which vendor to contact,” Withrow said.

There are QR codes throughout the terminals for passengers to fill out surveys about their experience.

The campaign runs until June 30.

For more news from across the Tri-State, click here.