Middle school Mathletes from all over Washington competed in the state finals of the national MATHCOUNTS program on March 20 at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond.

Individual competition winners were:

Washington state first place winner: Darryl Wu, Lakeside Middle School, Seattle

Washington state second place winner: Kevin Yang, Odle Middle School, Bellevue

Washington state third place winner: Kevin Liu, Odle Middle School, Bellevue

Washington state fourth place winner: Kolya Malkin, Redmond Junior High School, Redmond

The above winners will travel to the MATHCOUNTS National Championship in Orlanda, Fla. on May 6-9.

Team competition winners were:

Washington state first place team: Odle Middle School, Bellevue

Washington state second place team: Lakeside Middle School, Seattle

Washington state third place team: Redmond Junior High School, Redmond

Washington state fourth place team: Shahala Middle School, Vancouver

MATHCOUNTS involves the business community in improving education and in addressing the need for a mathematically literate work force. Microsoft Corp. is an active participant in MATHCOUNTS and numerous employees donated hundreds of hours to help coach students, conduct competitions and act as role models to bring practical experience to the classroom.

For more information about MATHCOUNTS, visit www.mathcounts.org.