Buchholz High School wins 15th math national championship in 16 years

There could be mathematicians in the making at Buchholz High School.

The high school in Gainesville has now won its 15th math national championship in 16 years after beating American Heritage Broward and 30 additional schools at a competition in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Buchholz High School’s math team left the four-day competition, called Mu Alpha Theta, with 282 trophies and medals, including 28 first-place awards.

Two other significant awards were given to the Buchholz Math Team – The Khalin Award and the Sister Scholastica Award.

Check out last year's win: Buchholz High School takes home 14th national math championship win in 15-year span

The Khalin Award was given to Tucker Shea, a senior at the school. It represents a student’s contribution to their team over their school career and is the most prestigious individual award given to a student nationwide, according to a news release.

“I was especially proud of some of our younger team members,” said BHS team coach Will Frazer. “Several of them did not prepare properly for state and we paid a price. They learned their lesson and worked very hard in June to get ready.”

The Sister Scholastica Award was given to Olanrewaju Fayiga, a BHS coach. The award recipient is chosen by a vote of student delegates and presented to the sponsor of the year. It is accompanied by a $2000 prize for personal use and $1000 for the school.

The win is essentially a comeback victory after BHS lost the state championship to American Heritage in April by only 17 points. This time, they beat American Heritage by a whopping 379 points.

Frazer said the students will take a small break and the team will soon start to prepare for the national competition next year held in Las Vegas.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Buchholz High School wins yet another Mu Alpha Theta championship