Chinese-Filipino student tops int’l math tilt

RP team placed 3rd
 
MANILA, Philippines — A Chinese-Filipino student from Zamboanga City took home a gold medal in the 2009 International Regions Mathematics competition held in the United States recently, with the Philippine team placing third overall among 16 teams from different countries.

Zheng Rong Wu, from the Zamboanga Chong Hua High School, took home a gold medal as the top scorer of the Philippine team in the two-day contest, held early this month at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.

There were four events in the IRML contest: team round, individual round, relay round and power question.

The American Regions Mathematics League (ARML), the contest organizers, awarded gold medals to the top scorers of all participating teams regardless of their scores.

Math wizards from the People’s Republic of China-Macau won the gold in the team competition with 128 points, followed by their counterparts from Colombia and the Philippines with 109 and 80 points, respectively.

Math teams from Germany, Turkey, Hong Kong and Indonesia, among other countries, also took part in the IRML contest.

The Philippine team’s performance was “much better than its output in the 2008 edition of the contest,” according to Doctor Simon Chua, president of Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines and head of the Philippine delegation.

In 2008, two teams from the Philippines placed 48th and 84th, respectively, out of 85 competing teams in the contest that was topped by the Hong Kong delegation.

The other members of the Philippine team are Jomar Anthony Sastrillo from Silliman University; Matthew Chris Chan, St. Stephen’s High School; Ralph Joshua Sarrosa, Angelicum School of Iloilo; Noelle Paola Santos and Ma. Moper Dionaleigh Nunez, Philippine Science High School; Charles Kyle Mupas, Colegio San Agustin-Binan; Misaki Ueki, Canossa Academy-Laguna; John Ostin Ong, Trinity High School-Bacolod City; Ralph Henry Kimoden, Quezon City High School; and Hans Vladimir Cabanes and Ricci Ryan Rojo, Zamboanga Chong Hua High School.–Jerry E. Esplanada, Philippine Daily Inquirer