MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY -- With summer vacation so close, you may think it would be tough to keep kids focused in the classroom, but some of our area's brightest math students showed focus and competitive spirit at a math competition in Lackawanna County.
It's a math class marathon with more at stake. Middle school students -- 200 hundred of them from 25 different districts -- huddled around math problems for the 27th annual Sottile Math Contest at Marywood University.
The kids work as individuals and then as teams.
"It was a team event so we worked with each other to try and figure out the right answer, and actually, we got done pretty early so I'm very confident about that," said Abington Heights eighth grader Lauren Berry.
When time is up, the worksheets go to the scoring room.
"Send in one answer sheet for the team, and then we grade them here when they're brought in," explained Abington Heights teacher Rebekah Flanagan.
The teachers grading this work are more enthusiastic than usual for mid-May.
The math competition culminates in a relay race, but not the kind of relay race you're thinking of -- this one is very quiet and you won't see any running. Instead of passing batons, they pass back papers.
"Well, there's competition. It seems like there are some pretty good teams. Some of my friends are smarter than me in math, and it's just like, 'good luck!' said Mountain View sixth grader Nathan Ofalt.
It's all about the mix of math and competition. There are awards given out for the best individual and best team.
Plus, school pride isn't at stake. Each team included students from various districts.
"They were really good at math. They were really smart, and they were really nice, too. I was glad I got to meet them because they're really nice," said Scranton fifth grader Amelia King.
And that may be the day's most lasting lesson.