Hidalgo County Students Compete in UNM Statewide High School Math Contest

Lordsburg students made the trip to Albuquerque last week to compete in one of New Mexico's most demanding academic contests, joining more than 110 peers from across the state at the second and final round of the 58th UNM-PNM Statewide High School Mathematics Contest.

The competitors, drawn from 27 schools in cities including Albuquerque, Los Alamos, Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, Santa Fe, and Zuni, gathered in the SMLC auditorium at the University of New Mexico, where they faced eight problems covering games, probability, paradoxical areas, number theory and counting, logic, thick octagons, nonlinear equations, and bit representation.

"The contest problems are always challenging, and proved especially so this year," the contest organizers said. "No matter, in the crucible of the moment students always find delightfully creative solutions, often unanticipated by the organizers."

Graduate students and faculty volunteered to proctor the exam and distribute T-shirts.

To reach the final round, students first had to advance through a demanding qualifying stage. A total of 449 students from 35 schools across New Mexico took part in the first round of the 2025-2026 contest, held at 17 testing sites across the state, with nearly 97 percent testing in person at locations including Lordsburg.

This year's contest is the 58th, with nearly uninterrupted organization by UNM's Department of Mathematics and Statistics since 1965. PNM, the Public Service Company of New Mexico, has co-sponsored the event since 1997, helping fund the annual guest lecture, awards banquet, and prizes for students and teachers.

Contest organizers have graded each student's solutions, with winners to be announced in the last week of March. An awards ceremony and banquet is scheduled for Saturday, April 18, at the Student Union Building at UNM, where the ceremony will honor winners in each grade from 5 through 12, as well as overall winners and the top scorer for each school. Books, monetary prizes, and gift cards will be awarded to students and their teachers, made possible through support from PNM.