Academic Masters
In this article, Connor Upshaw will showcase the GPHS Academic Masters held in our auditorium. Updates on how the winners will advance will be included.
GPHS Academic Masters
By Connor Upshaw
Here at GPHS, the Academic Masters competition is among the largest events for students to test their academic knowledge. It is a great opportunity for students-- awarding prize money to the winners while also looking great to colleges and on a resume. To get to the point where contestants can challenge other schools, they must first win the competition here at GPHS. After having attended the math competition in the PAC, this article is a summary of what happened, the highly skilled contestants, and the contestants who finally made it onto the GPHS team.
Academic Masters is a huge event that occurs every year, and has long been a part of the culture here at Grants Pass High School. Students with an affinity for math, social studies, English, science, and music compete against three high schools of the Three Rivers School District. According to the GPHS website, the competition was first formed in the 1980s and generally awards a cash prize of $500-$800 to the winners. First, there is a competition at GPHS (as well as the other involved high schools) to find the final team member for each subject. All five competitions this year occurred on Feb. 8, 2023. I attended the math competition in the Performing Arts Center, which was used to select the math champion for the GPHS team.
Photo taken by Connor Upshaw
The Math Masters had four competitors: Trevor Smith, Christian Dara, Connor Holloway, and Isaiah Williams. All four did an outstanding job in solving a complicated three-step math problem. The gist of the problem was that the Army Corp of Engineers at Lost Creek is responsible for ensuring safe flow and avoiding flooding in the Rogue. Contestants were tasked with finding out how to prevent flooding after considering a variety of factors in three different segments.
Photo taken by Connor Upshaw
Contestants entered the stage one at a time, having to explain their answers before the time ran out. Senior and Math Team President Trevor Smith was the first contestant. He listed his favorite teacher as Mr. Linderman, and his goal is to major in computer science. He made it through two of three segments before time ran out. The second competitor was Christian Dara. He is a senior with the goal of being a mechanical engineer, and his most influential teacher is Mrs. DeBolt. He is involved in wrestling, tennis and chamber orchestra. Christian managed to make it fully through all three problems. Out of the four, only he and one other contestant made it that far.
Next up was Connor Holloway, a senior who enjoys soccer and aspires to major in kinesiology or bioengineering. His most influential teacher is Mr. Bland. Connor made it through two of three problems before time ran out. The final contestant was Isaiah Williams, a senior who plans to major in mechanical engineering. He is a member of the National Honor Society and his most influential teacher is Ms. Moore. He was the second contestant to make it through all three parts of the problem.
All four contestants are incredibly bright and talented individuals, but there had to be a winner. Isaiah Williams was ultimately chosen to make the county team after a hard-fought competition. With Isaiah as the math champion, the other four champions were also selected in their own competitions. Each contest is available to watch on the PAC Youtube channel in the Academic Masters stream.
Photo taken by Connor Upshaw
The Academic Masters are not only an important part of GPHS culture; they are a highly competitive sport that requires huge amounts of talent and perseverance. All of the contestants put in a huge amount of effort, and there is certainly a lot to look forward to with the final team. Be sure to root for the GHPS team in the Three Rivers competitions. They will need all the encouragement they can get!
