Twenty-eight students from Wilson County high schools participated in the 61st Annual American Mathematics Contest (AMC) on Feb. 24 - an event hosted by the Cumberland University Mathematics Department and the Abelian Group, the student chapter of the Mathematical Association of America. The students competed for Cumberland University scholarships as well as other national awards.

The purpose of the contest, which covers high school mathematics, was to spur interest in mathematics and develop talent through the excitement of friendly competition at problem-solving in a timed format. The AMC 10 and the AMC 12 are part of a series of contests sponsored each year by the Mathematical Association of America through a program known as American Mathematics Competitions. The contest was divided into two categories - the AMC 10, for students under 17.5 years of age who are not entering 11th or 12th grades; and the AMC 12, open to any high school student under the age of 19.5 years.

The AMC offers the only math competition series in the country leading to the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO) and the Mathematical Olympiad Summer Program (MOSP). From this group of students, the AMC sends the highly competitive USA Team to the prestigious annual International Mathematical Olympiad.

Students from four Wilson County high schools participated in the contest for 2010, including Lebanon High School, Mt. Juliet High School, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy and Watertown High School.

Watertown's Damien G. Shipper won the AMC 10 competition, while Mt. Juliet's Nicholas A. Moore was second and Mt. Juliet Christian Academy's Phillip A. Lundy took third. Each received $500 scholarships.

The top three scorers on the AMC 12 received $1,000 scholarships, with Mt. Juliet's Zachary T. Jones taking first place. Mt. Juliet Christian Academy's Kevin Lin was second and Mt. Juliet's Joshua C. Nixon placed third. Jones finished second in last year's competition and Nixon finished third in 2009 as well.

In addition to the testing and presentation of awards, students were treated to a campus tour as well as a forum presented by Cumberland University students majoring in mathematics on their future career goals and programs at CU.

Details concerning the 2010 AMC 10/12 contests, as well as the rest of AMC's programs, are available at www.unl.edu/amc/. For further information, contact the AMC directly by phone at 800-527-3690 or via e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . For information regarding Cumberland University, please call 615-547-1278 or e-mail Dr. Laurie P. Dishman ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ), Dean of Liberal Arts & Sciences and Associate Professor of Mathematics.

PHOTO INFORMATION: Top photo, AMC 12B Winners (from left to right): Dr. Laurie Dishman; Joshua C. Nixon, Mt. Juliet High School; Kevin Lin, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy; Zachary T. Jones, Mt. Juliet High School. Bottom photo, AMC 10B Winners (from left to right): Dr. Laurie Dishman; Phillip A. Lundy, Mt. Juliet Christian Academy; Nicholas A. Moore, Mt. Juliet High School; Damien G. Shipper, Watertown High School.