Rivet High School’s academic team, known as TEAMS — which stands for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science — brought home a national championship recently.

The sophomore group of Allen Dong, Max Weiss, Madison Will, and freshman Bridget Stine finished first in the nation in Mathematical Modeling at the TEAMS National Competition held June 28 through July 1 at the Gaylord Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

Beverly Adams, a Mathematics Teacher at Rivet told First City News that the national event included four components: a multiple-choice exam, design/build challenge, mathematical modeling, and a presentation with a voice-over.  Adams says Rivet stood out among larger schools, with an enrollment of just 91 students. The third-place school in mathematical modeling has over 4,000 students, while the smallest school in the overall top ten had about 630 students. A total of 131 teams from the United States and Turkey competed.

To qualify for nationals, Rivet students first competed at the state level in February, which included an essay, design/build, and multiple-choice questions. Rivet fielded four teams at state: seniors, juniors, sophomores, and freshmen. The teams were coached by Beverly Adams.

Three Rivet teams — seniors, juniors, and sophomores — earned spots at nationals. Due to scheduling conflicts, Bracey Morron and Bridget Stine stepped in as alternates.

When the team returned home, they were greeted by a fire truck escort and a celebration at the school with family and friends, marking Rivet’s first-ever national first-place finish.