Regional Middle and High School Students Excel at Mines 73rd West River Math Contest
South Dakota Mines hosted the 73rd annual West River Math Contest on Monday, May 12. In total, 483 middle and high school students from across the region attended the annual contest, which includes exams in Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry, Advanced Math and Master’s categories. The exams were created and scored by math professors at Mines. Thirty-two schools came from western South Dakota as well as Nebraska and Wyoming.
Free lunches were provided to all participants thanks to donations from the most recent Raising for Rockers fundraising event.
A photo album from the contest can be found here.
The top five contestants in each category went home with awards. The full list of winners can be found here. The top schools were also awarded the Julie J. Dahl Award for Best Team Performance. The 2025 overall team winners were St. Thomas More in Class B and Scottsbluff High School in Class A.
Mines has held the contest since 1950.
“The West River Math Contest is a proud tradition at South Dakota Mines, and we’re always excited to welcome the region’s brightest young minds to our campus,” said Dr. Brian Tande, president of Mines. “Events like this not only celebrate academic excellence, but they also inspire the next generation of problem-solvers and innovators.”
Next year’s West River Math Contest is slated for May 11, 2026.