SHS Math Team Earns First-Ever Top 10 Finish at Mu Alpha Theta National Convention
Scottsbluff Public Schools is proud to announce that the Scottsbluff High School Mu Alpha Theta team placed 10th in Sweepstakes at the 2026 Mu Alpha Theta National Convention, marking the highest national finish in program history and the team's first-ever top 10 result.
The Bearcats' 10th-place finish placed them ahead of Omaha Central (11th), Marion, Indiana (12th), Kamehameha Schools of Hawaii (13th) and Round Rock, Texas (14th), competing against top math programs from across the nation. Sweepstakes scoring reflects a team's combined performance across every division and event at the convention, making it the most comprehensive measure of a program's overall strength.
Team Highlights:
-
Mu Division Team — 11th Place
- Alpha Division Team — 10th Place
- Theta Division Team — 17th Place
- Interschool Team — 11th Place
- Hustle Team — 12th Place
- Mu Gemini (Jacob Maser & Jacob Green) — 5th Place
- Poster Team — 4th Place
The convention, held June 28 – July 3, 2026, in Frisco, Texas, brought together thousands of students and sponsors from Mu Alpha Theta chapters across the country and abroad for a week of competitive math events, workshops and team activities. Mu Alpha Theta is the United States' math honor society for high school and two-year college students, with roughly 100,000 members across more than 2,400 chapters nationwide and in more than 20 countries. The organization has held a national convention every year since 1968, bringing students together for five days of math-focused competition; this year's event drew top programs from Florida, Alabama, Texas, Hawaii, Washington and beyond to compete for Sweepstakes honors, the tournament's overall team title, scored across every division and individual, team, and Chalk Talk event at the convention.
Individual Results:
Wyatt Nerud
- 5th, Alpha Mental Math
- 10th, Alpha Team
- 11th, Alpha Relay
- 12th, Alpha Complex Numbers
- 14th, Alpha Equations & Inequalities
- 15th, Alpha Analytic Geometry
Kaidenz McDaniel
- 7th, Mu Chalk Talk
- 9th, Mu Mental Math
- 11th, Mu (Calculus) Team
- 12th, Hustle Team
- 23rd, Mu Area & Volume
- 26th, Mu BC Calculus
- 26th, Mu Polar, Parametric & Geometry
Logan Polk
- 11th, Mu (Calculus) Team
- 12th, Mu Relay
- 19th, Open Comprehensive
- 28th, Mu Integration
Landen Heine
- 6th, Statistics Chalk Talk
- 11th, Mu (Calculus) Team
- 16th, Open Probability & Combinatorics
- 20th, Mu Sequences & Series
- 22nd, Mu Speed Math
- 28th, Mu Function Analysis
River Baily-Nolde
- 12th, Hustle Team
- 15th, Mu Applications
- 18th, Open Number Theory
- 29th, Mu Limits & Derivatives
Nicholas Roberts
- 14th, Open History of Math
Stephanie Zhang
- 14th, Theta Relay
- 17th, Theta Team
- 23rd, Theta Equations & Inequalities
- 29th, Theta Mental Math
Sebastian Kissick
- 10th, Alpha Speed Math
- 10th, Alpha Team
- 12th, Hustle Team
- 29th, Alpha Exponents & Logarithms
The convention also served as a send-off for the program's graduating seniors: Thompson "TJ" Bastron, Landen Heine, Jacob Green, Nicholas Roberts, Harrison Maser, Jacob Maser, River Baily-Nolde, Logan Polk, Jacob Mark, Brodie Armstrong, Kaidenz McDaniel, Lillyana Abshire, Jayden Lindley, and Leia Bennett.
Scottsbluff High School sent 34 students in grades 9-12 to this year's national convention under the direction of sponsor Shelby Aaberg. Bringing this many students to a national convention would not be possible without the generosity of these sponsors:
- Platte Valley Bank
- FNBO (First National Bank of Omaha)
- Mark Chiropractic
- Morton Buildings
- Nemnich Automotive
- Team Auto Center
- Western Sales Resources
- Gary's Alliance
- Scottsbluff Booster Club
- Robinson Electric Inc.
- Linda Merritt
- Gateway Realty
- J. G. Elliott Insurance
- Western Sugar
- Dental Care of Jackson Hole (Wyoming)
- B & C Steel
- Fisher Roofing & Restoration
- MC Schaff
- Medical Equipment Services
- Webb Eyecare
- AIM Institute
- Pipe Works Plumbing LLC
- Weborg 21 Centre
- 21st Century
- Planet Bounce
- Platte Valley Dental Group
- Riverstone Bank
- Rosi's Chinese Express
- Sterling T Huff Attorney at Law
- Benzel Pest Control
- Legacy Cooperative
- Monument Physical Therapy
- Bluffs Physical Therapy
- Kick Kars
- Runza
- Russel Automotive
- Crispy Biscuit