The Western Nebraska Community College Harms Center hosted the 2026 Western Nebraska Chapter MATHCOUNTS Competition on Wednesday, February 11. The MATHCOUNTS Competition Series, established in 1983, is a national program sponsored by RTX, U.S. Department of Defense STEM, Northrop Grumman Foundation, the National Society of Professional Engineers, 3Mgives, Texas Instruments Incorporated, and Art of Problem Solving. 80 students competed at the event, representing Alliance Middle School, Alliance St. Agnes, Bluffs Middle School, Gering Middle School, Hay Springs Elementary, Hemingford Junior High, Kimball Junior High, and Mitchell Junior High.
The Bluffs Middle School team set a new school record of 47.5, beating the mark of 46.5 previously set in 2022 by Landen Heine, Harrison Maser, Jacob Maser, and Nicholas Roberts. The new school record holders at Bluffs Middle School are Declan Long, James White, William Croft, and Timothy Winterbottom.
Bluffs Middle School qualified seven students, Mitchell Junior High qualified four students, and Kimball Junior High qualified one student to the state competition. The 2026 Nebraska State MATHCOUNTS Competition will be held at Kiewit Hall at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln on Saturday, March 21.
School Team Results
1st 47.50 Bluffs Middle School
2nd 20.75 Mitchell Junior High
3rd 20.25 Gering Middle School
4th Kimball Junior High
5th Hay Springs Elementary
6th Alliance St. Agnes
7th Alliance Middle School
8th Hemingford Junior High
Individual Results (out of 80 Competitors)
1st Declan Long, 7 Bluffs Middle School
2nd James White, 8 Bluffs Middle School
3rd William Croft, 8 Bluffs Middle School
4th Timothy Winterbottom, 7 Bluffs Middle School
5th Benjamin Salinas, 8 Bluffs Middle School
6th Leah Urbanek, 8 Mitchell Junior High
7th Katie Hawthorne, 8 Kimball Junior High
8th Zack Rogers, 7 Bluffs Middle School
9th Allison Aaberg, 8 Bluffs Middle School
10th Avery Holmes, 7 Bluffs Middle School
11th Kinley Williams, 7 Bluffs Middle School
12th Katie Simmons, 8 Bluffs Middle School
13th Dutch Van Dyk, 7 Mitchell Junior High
14th Landyn Shimek, 6 Bluffs Middle School
15th Kippen Cochran, 8 Gering Middle School
Additional Bluffs Middle School Individual Results
16th Gracie Marlow, 7
20th Annabelle Fox, 6
33rd Isabella Songco, 7
Bluffs Middle School State Qualifiers
Team: Declan Long, 7
James White, 8
William Croft, 8
Timothy Winterbottom, 7
Individuals: Benjamin Salinas, 8
Zack Rogers, 7
Allison Aaberg, 8
Countdown Round Results
1st Declan Long, Bluffs Middle School
2nd James White, Bluffs Middle School
3rd William Croft, Bluffs Middle School
4th Timothy Winterbottom, Bluffs Middle School
5th Benjamin Salinas, Bluffs Middle School
6th Katie Hawthorne, Kimball Junior High