BLMS & Indy students excel at Math Masters

Thirty-two Big Lake fourth through graders recently competed at the annual Math Masters competition, showcasing their computation and analytical skills on a regional stage. Our students were well-represented, earning awards in all three areas of competition across every grade level, including five total first-place finishes.

Among the winners were Ben Ripp (fourth grade fact drill) and Finnley Kortenkamp (sixth grade fact drill & individual competition), who both took home individual first-place honors.

In the team category, the fourth grade Big Lake Blue Team (Heidi Klein, Abby Aho, Ben Ripp, Emmet Winter, Damon Arko) and the sixth grade Big Lake White Team (Connor Day, Carter Brausen, TJ Barker, Finnley Kortenkamp) also came out on top.

The event, held April 28–30 at Resource Training & Solutions in Sartell, challenged students to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills across three competition elements. The fact drill tested students ability to complete 75 arithmetic problems in five minutes, while the individual and team competitions involved a series of tests.

A full round-up of Big Lake award-winners is listed below. Congrats to all of these students for their great representation of Big Lake Schools!

Fourth Grade Results

The fourth grade competition was held on April 28, 2026. Awards went to the top 10 individuals (out of 100+) and the top 3 teams (out of 21).

Participants: Owen Coulter, Henry Pula, Emmet Winter, Damon Arko, Finlay Schabilion, Isaac Graff, Ben Rip, Ben Pouliot, Abby Aho, Heidi Klein

Fact Drill Awards:

• 1st: Ben Ripp
• 5th: Henry Pula

Individual Awards:

• 5th: Abby Aho
• 6th: Finlay Schabilion

Team Awards:

1st: Heidi Klein, Abby Aho, Ben Ripp, Emmet Winter, Damon Arko

Fifth Grade Results

The fifth grade competition was held on April 29, 2026. Awards went to the top 15 individuals (out of 55) and the top 6 teams (out of 12).

Fact Drill Award Winners:

• 3rd: Eloise Regneir
• 9th: Ava Frederick

Individual Award Winners:

• 7th: Lucas McCloud
• 12th: Wyatt Kauk
• 13th: Eloise Regnier
• 14th: Paige Smith
• 15th: Kannon Vetsch

Team Awards:

• 4th: Paige Smith, Eloise Regnier, Kannon Vetsch, Wyatt Kauk, Lucas McCloud
• 5th: Ben Brown, Liam Yang, Natalie Pula, Eloise Regnier, Jude Devine

Fourth Grade Results

The sixth grade competition was held on April 30, 2026. Awards went to the top 25 individuals (out of 100+) and the top 6 teams (out of 23).

Fact Drill Award Winners:

• 1st: Finnley Kortenkamp
• 7th: Carter Hoffman
• 10th: Carter Brausen
• 18th: Jack Nelson
• 21st: Kaia Loegering
• 23rd: Brinley Grew

Individual Award Winners:

• 1st: Finnley Kortenkamp
• 3rd: Connor Day
• 4th: Kaia Loegering
• 7th: Carter Brausen
• 14th: Brinley Grew
• 18th: Carter Hoffman
• 21st: TJ Barker
• 22nd: Jack Nelson
• 23rd: Logan Johnson

Team Award Winners:

• 1st: TJ Barker, Carter Brausen, Connor Day, and Finnley Kortenkamp
• 5th: Reese Fontaine, Kaden Gram, Carter Hoffman, and Kaia Loegering
• 6th: Amelia Broermann, Brinley Grew, Logan Johnson, and Jack Nelson