Sugar Land MATHCOUNTS whiz Bobby Shen

Bobby Shen of Sugar Land, Texas, was named the winner of the 2009 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS® National Competition, today at Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin Resort.

Winning the Texas state title three years in a row, the 8th-grader from First Colony Middle School competed against 227 other middle school students in this prestigious competition, hosted by Danica McKellar. McKellar is best known as Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years" and Elsie Snuffin on "The West Wing" and now as author of the New York Times best-selling books, "Kiss My Math" and "Math Doesn't Suck."

Shen was victorious in the intense, one-on-one Countdown Round where the top 12 Mathletes® competed for the title of this year's Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Champion. David Yang of Walnut, California was awarded the second-place individual title with Alan Zhou of Lexington, Massachusetts, and Max Schindler of St. Louis, Missouri advancing to the Semi-finals.

Texas MATHCOUNTS team members (from left): Steven Chen, Bobby Shen, Yury Aglyamov, Lilly Shen, and coach Jeffrey Boyd.

In the team competition, Texas captured the title of National Team Champions. Team members include Yury Aglyamov of Austin, Texas, Steven Chen of Austin, Texas, Bobby Shen of Sugar Land, Texas, Lilly Shen of Sugar Land, Texas and coach Jeff Boyd of Sugar Land. The Missouri team took second place, and the Washington team placed third.

"Every one of the participating Mathletes should be recognized for their outstanding achievements following months of dedication and hard work," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company and 2009 MATHCOUNTS honorary chairman. "We hope these students will build on their passion for math and be recognized for their outstanding efforts going forward. MATHCOUNTS and programs like Raytheon's MathMovesU are working to motivate the country's brightest students with the idea that with math, there are no limits."

"Congratulations to each of these students on their amazing accomplishments," said Lou DiGioia, executive director of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. "These Mathletes, and all of their counterparts around the nation, deserve our praise and acknowledgement of their talent and dedication. They represent our future in an increasingly important math literate global economy. MATHCOUNTS is honored to support the efforts of U.S. middle school students in developing strong mathematical abilities and the critical thinking skills necessary to help the nation move forward with innovative solutions to our challenges in the coming years."

As National Champion, Bobby Shen won the $8,000 Donald G. Weinert Scholarship and a trip to the U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama. David Yang won a $6,000 scholarship as 2nd Place Individual. Semi-finalists Alan Zhou of Lexington, Massachusetts and Maximilian Schindler of St. Louis, Missouri each won a $4,000 scholarship. David Yang of Walnut, California won an $8,000 scholarship as the Written Round Winner and Maximilian Schindler of St. Louis, Missouri also won a $6,000 scholarship as Written Round Runner-up. Additionally, each team member from first-place Texas won a $2,000 scholarship and trips to U.S. Space Camp.

"It was my honor to witness this level of passion for mathematics from these middle school students," said McKellar. "Their desire to excel in such a challenging subject is admirable and I hope their accomplishments inspire other students and young people around the world."

Student representatives from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands and the Department of Defense and State Department schools worldwide participated in the 2009 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition. To advance to the National Competition, students had to not only place in the top four of their peers during their state competition in March, they also had to advance through local and chapter level competitions.