While many of us spent our spring break sleeping in or on vacation, several of AGHS’s top AB and BC calculus students competed at a state competition in Bakersfield, taking 3rd place overall.
Similarly to past years, AP Calculus teacher Sam Vonderheide selected 8 of his highest-scoring students, in both grade percentages and highest practice AP test scores, to attend the competition.
This year’s group consisted of 2 juniors: Hannah Hall, Ivy Kragness, and 6 Seniors: Spencer Arrivee, Jack Folkrod, Molly McLaughlin, Grayson Smith, Zach Kolostian, and Christian Guerrero.
“The teachers from a ton of calculus classes around the state took their highest performing students to complete half of an AP test,” Guerrero (‘25) said.
After the five-hour grading period, the AGHS calculus team earned enough points to take 3rd place overall.
“The highest individual scorers and teams [were rewarded] with trophies and bragging rights,” Guerrero said.
Photo courtesy of Sam Vonderheide.
The grading of individual scores was erroneous, as there was a grading mistake in both Kolostian’s and Folkrod’s tests. Mishaps aside, the experience as a whole was hugely valuable for its participants.
“The whole day was pretty fun,” Kolostian (‘25) said. “Especially the ride there and back.”
Not only was the experience fun and bonding for the team, but it also served as a great opportunity to participate in some last-minute practice for the AP Calculus test.
“[The competition] tested a good amount of calculus skills and topics that we’ve done throughout the year,” Smith (‘25) said. “[Although] it was a bit more of a time crunch than what we’ve experienced in class.”
While the participating students had worked hard throughout the year, one student who was set to compete fell ill the day before, leaving Vonderheide to call in another student to replace them.
Photo courtesy of Sam Vonderheide.
“Mr. Vonderheide called me the night before at 8:00 PM, saying that Mark got sick and that there was an open spot,” Hannah Hall (‘26) said.
Despite these last-minute changes, the team recovered and competed to the best of their ability. Not only did the team achieve 3rd place, but they also accomplished their goal of beating rival San Luis Obispo High School.
“My favorite part of the competition was that we beat SLO,” Hall said. “We also had really good team spirit.”
To celebrate and commemorate their victory, Vonderheide treated the crew to In-N-Out Burger, buying each of them the meal of their choice.
The AGHS calculus tradition of success, with a bit of motivational In-N-Out, will hopefully continue for years to come, thanks to this year’s participants.
