Martin, who is home schooled but takes classes at Central High School, was the first place finisher in the State Competition March 15.

The four-member Minnesota team finished 15th out of 57 teams. Other team members were Nathan Salo, grade 8, Falcon Ridge Middle School, Apple Valley; Ben Dion, grade 8, Parkview Center School, Roseville; and Sahiba Singh, grade 7, Wayzata Central Middle School, Plymouth.

The four students earned the all-expenses-paid-trip to the National competition because they were the top four finishers in the Minnesota State Mathcounts meet held in Plymouth.

Darryl Wu of Bellevue, Washington, took first in this year's competition, hosted by Lockheed Martin, a MATHCOUNTS National and Minnesota Sponsor.

In the team competition, Texas captured the title of National Team Champions.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, MATHCOUNTS is a national mathematics enrichment, coaching and competition program open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. Each year, more than 500,000 middle school students use free MATHCOUNTS materials in their schools to sharpen their math skills. Beyond the challenge of learning new skills, the MATHCOUNTS competition series (school, local, state and national) provides students with an added incentive to focus on mathematics. More than 6,300 schools registered students to participate in the MATHCOUNTS competition and vie for prizes, scholarships, bragging rights and the opportunity to advance to the Lockheed Martin MATHCOUNTS National Competition. Students of all abilities thoroughly enjoy the experience and develop the mathematical aptitude, self-confidence and teamwork skills to better prepare them for their future.

The mission of MATHCOUNTS is to increase enthusiasm for and enhance achievement in middle school mathematics throughout the United States. With the generous support of all MATHCOUNTS sponsors and volunteers, and leadership of the National Society of Professional Engineers at the local and state levels, MATHCOUNTS is providing today's students with the foundation for success in science, technology, engineering or mathematics careers.

Additional information on the National Competition is available at http://www.mathcounts.org.