By Ben Deck

For the Daily News

More than 100 Beaufort County students returned to classes this week with fresh memories of a weekend math competition at Washington High School.

For many of the older participants, the competition is also a precursor for a regional event that could lead to a statewide event later this year.

“We use (the local event) as a preparation for the regional competition in Elizabeth City in March,” said Toby McMahon, chair of the math department at Washington High School.

McMahon’s department hosts the growing competition, now in its seventh year. In the past few years, participation has hovered at about 150 students from 10 schools. This year, more than 200 students from 13 schools took part. Those students include from elementary, middle and high school students from schools in Beaufort, Craven, Martin and Pitt counties.

The event is divided into group and individual competitions, and awards are given out to individuals, teams and schools, McMahon said, adding that no calculators are permitted. The event is sponsored by Tom Robinson, a Washington CPA, and gift bags for teachers bringing teams are provided by Office Depot.

The regional competition in March is open to high school students, and most of the high-schoolers competing Saturday were preparing for that event, McMahon said. Students in the middle-and elementary-school competitions were mostly doing it for its own sake.

Those competitors included Zariyah Gorham, Kevin Moore and Reagan Gurner, a trio from P.S. Jones Elementary School who huddled intently around a sheet of math problems during the group phase of the competition.

“I did this in fourth grade, and I thought it would be fun to try it again in sixth grade,” Gurner said. Although challenging, the event was enjoyable, she said.

Gorham and Gurner agreed.

“I tried it for the first time (on Saturday), and I liked it,” Gorham said.