The Washington state math team took third place at the MATHCOUNTS National Competitions. The team composed of Kevin Liu, Darryl Wu, and Kevin Yang, all of Bellevue, along with Kolya Malkin and coached by Liu’s father, Min Liu, competed in Orlando, Fla., along with 220 other competitors from May 6-9.

The competition brings together the top math competitors from sixth through eighth grade across the nation. Competitors must first advance through school, chapter (i.e. regional), and state-level competitions before attending the MATHCOUNTS National Competition.

The top four students of a state as determined by the state-level competition compose the team that represents their respective state at the competition. The MATHCOUNTS competitors then compete both for a combined team score and an individual score in a series of four competitions to determine a winning team and a winning individual.

Wu, the individual champion of 2008, returned this year to place in the semi-finals individually.