USCHS Finishes Eighth in Pennsylvania Math League
![Three high school students - Pennsylvania Math League]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1777490578/uscsdk12paus/jpmseu3dvkfecaqryxtv/2026-PML.png","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1777490578/uscsdk12paus/jpmseu3dvkfecaqryxtv/2026-PML.png","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1777490578/uscsdk12paus/jpmseu3dvkfecaqryxtv/2026-PML.png","width":800}])
Upper St. Clair High School placed eighth among 92 Pennsylvania schools competing in the Pennsylvania Math League (PML) this year, with three students finishing among the top 50 scorers statewide.
Yuwen Xiang, John Whitman and Lyman Thomson earned top-50 honors in the commonwealth. Upper St. Clair was one of only two schools from the Pittsburgh region to place in the top 10, joining North Allegheny Senior High School.
Students are supported by Emma McDonnell, gifted education teacher, who emphasizes the value of challenge-based learning.
“The key is to encourage students to enjoy a challenge and to learn from it to find problem-solving discussions stimulating,” Ms. McDonnell said.
The PML competition consists of six monthly contests from October through March. Each 30-minute contest includes six questions spanning topics such as algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability and sequences. The final questions are designed to challenge the highest-performing students.
The Pennsylvania Math League aims to promote student interest, confidence and excellence in mathematics through rigorous competition.
- USCHS