For fourth graders at Poplar Bluff Middle School, the term "final four" usually applies to basketball. But instead of hitting the court Wednesday, the final four hit the library for a championship of a different sort; a math competition sponsored by the Butler County Community Resource Council.
The annual Fourth Grade Math Counts program culminated with a computerized multiplication test held at Poplar Bluff Municipal Library. After evaluating the skills of each of the nearly 450 student class, the top scorers were invited to compete for the title of Fourth Grade Math Champion.
This year's final four happened to be all boys, who went head-to-head in a one-minute multiplication test. Beau McCormack, son of David and Lynn McCormack, won first place and received a shiny, red and gold trophy. Grant Hill, Ryder Hanks, and Jayden Massa all received honorable mentions.
Beau McCormack said he "loves math" and was "nervous excited" for the event.
"I've been practicing for this. I've done it over and over and over," he said.
When asked what he's going to do now that he's earned a championship trophy, McCormack exclaimed "I'm going to Disney World!" He later said realistically he's heading back to school and will keep working hard and learning more about math until he grows up and becomes a professional basketball player.
McCormack's dad, David, said his son has lately been challenging family members to math skirmishes around the house.
"He always wants to do better every time," David said. "When it's a set pack, he feels like he has to do it a certain amount of times to reach a certain level."
Kathern Harris, chairperson for the CRC's Children and Youth Succeeding in School committee, said the scores all came in very close together.
"I think all of them really deserved this because they all worked so hard," she said.
Harris said she feels the math competition teaches students the value of individual roles.
"I hope it shows them they can be important without being number one," she said. "That the role you play is very important and I think it builds their self-esteem. These boys were all happy today and they're all winners."
Dr. Brad Owings, PBMS principal, said representatives from the CRC worked with students over a period of weeks to determine the final four.
"They used recess and class time to test math skills," Owings said. "They'd do a test and eliminate some people, and so on until they got down to these four top masterings in fourth grade."
When asked to comment on his experience in the competition, Ryder Hanks denied the interview because he's "not allowed to talk to strangers."
Harris said she's very proud of the boys, especially because of their good attitudes and positive sportsmanship demonstrated during the competition.