Mathematics League Kicks Off Tournament On National Pi Day

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A contest to name the most numbers in pi kicked off the annual Minnesota State High School Mathematics League tournament on Monday, which was also National Pi Day.

The top high school math students across the state filled South St. Paul's auditorium for a day of math contests and a chance to celebrate their skills.

And what better way wrap up the season than on National Pi Day.

Many people know the symbol pi, or what you get at Baker's Square, but the mathletes at this competition memorized hundreds of digits.

Five of Minnesota's finest mathletes took the stage for a round robin, rapid-fire contest reciting the digits of pi, which goes on into the trillions.

They were given five seconds to answer. No answer and you're out.

Wrong number and you're also out.

The last mathlete standing goes on with the numbers for as long as they can.

Woodbury senior Michelle Mao made it to 164 digits.

"I was kind of self-conscious, but you couldn't really see anybody in the crowd so it was fine," Mao said.

The humble math whiz spent only the weekend memorizing the numbers.

"I knew some digits of pi already, but it was mostly just grouping them into digits of five and just going from there," Mao said.

Mao said she plans on going into science and engineering. She's waiting to hear back from all of the school she's applied to.

For now, she'll enjoy her trophy. Naturally, a pie.

"I am quite the pie fan," Mao said.