In April, Rio served as the host school for a Sacramento Area Matheletes competition for the first time, and for two students in particular, the home-field advantage led to big accolades. Out of the several hundred regional participants, Hailey Puglia was named Senior of the Year, as the highest-scoring senior, and Logan Henningsen was Sophomore of the Year. Puglia was also named to the All-County Team A and was the second overall highest scorer from this season.

There are about six competitions per season (a year) and Rio finished in sixth place overall this season. Approximately 20 schools participate in the local league in which students compete at all levels of math.

Puglia, who played a large role in preparing for the competition, hopes Rio can host again in the future.

“It took a lot of organizing and a bunch of people pitched in to help out, but overall it was a success and a lot of fun to host,” she said. “It was also the last competition of the season, so lots of competitors came out and we held the end-of-the-year individual and team awards ceremony.”