LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., May 7, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Mark Sellke of West Lafayette, Ind. was named the winner of the 2010 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS^® National Competition today at Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. This year's winning Mathlete^® answered the following math problem in less than 45 seconds to be crowned the national champion of this year's competition:

Question: To play the following game, you start with $1. With each move, you can either double your money or add $1 to it. What is the smallest number of moves you have to make to get to exactly $200?

Answer:  9 (moves)

The 8th-grader from Klondike Middle School competed against 223 other middle school students in this prestigious competition, which pits the best and brightest in middle school mathematics against each other.

Sellke 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. Shyam Narayanan, of Overland Park, Kan. was awarded the second-place individual title with

Alex Song, of Beverly Hills, Mich. and Darryl Wu, of Bellevue, Wash. advancing to the semi-finals. In the team competition, California captured the title of National Team Champions. Team members include Douglas Chen, of Cupertino, Calif.; Eugene Chen, of Pleasanton, Calif.; Lewis Chen, of Freemont, Calif.; Aaron Lin, of Freemont, Calif.; and coach Donna Phair, of Freemont, Calif. The Illinois team took second place and the Washington team placed third.

"On behalf of the 75,000 members of our Raytheon team -- including tens of thousands of engineers and scientists who use math constantly -- I want to congratulate this year's MATHCOUNTS champion and all of the students who participated in the exciting competition," said William H. Swanson, Chairman and CEO of Raytheon Company and 2010 MATHCOUNTS honorary chairman. "Mathematics is the common language of our world, and it is a path to our future. My greatest wish is that the students will remember the excitement of this competition and continue to use math throughout their studies and in their exciting careers to come."

"Congratulations to each of these talented Mathletes," said Lou DiGioia, executive director of the MATHCOUNTS Foundation. "These students represent the best and brightest in U.S. middle school mathematics. They represent our future in an increasingly competitive global economy. MATHCOUNTS is honored to work with these students and provide the mathematical groundwork that encourages each student to develop the strong critical-thinking and problem-solving skills they will need to become contributing members of the U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines."

As National Champion, Sellke won the $8,000 Donald G. Weinert Scholarship and a trip to U.S. Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala. He will also appear on "Live with Regis and Kelly" to go head-to-head with the hosts in a nationally televised math challenge. Narayanan won a $6,000 scholarship as 2nd Place Individual. Semi-finalists Song and Wu each won a $4,000 scholarship. Sellke also won an $8,000 scholarship as the Written Round Winner and Narayanan also won a $6,000 scholarship as Written Round Runner-up. Additionally, each team member from California won a $2,000 scholarship and trips to space camp.

Student representatives from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and the Department of Defense and State Department schools worldwide participated in the 2010 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, but they also had to advance through local and chapter-level competitions.

About MATHCOUNTS

MATHCOUNTS is America's only nationwide enrichment, coaching, club, and competition program that motivates and rewards middle school students for math achievement.

Mission: To secure America's global competitiveness, MATHCOUNTS inspires excellence, confidence and curiosity in US middle school students through fun and challenging math programs.

Reach:

• Celebrating its 27th anniversary, over 6 million students have developed critical thinking and problem-solving skills through participating in MATHCOUNTS.
• Over 100,000 students in more than 6000 schools register annually to compete in the MATHCOUNTS Competition Program.
• MATHCOUNTS currently distributes program information, curriculum, and materials to over 48,000 middle schools.
• A 501(c)(3) organization, funding for MATHCOUNTS comes primarily from its National Sponsors; Raytheon Company, National Defense Education Program, Northrop Grumman Foundation, National Society of Professional  Engineers, CNA Foundation, ConocoPhillips, Pitsco Education, Texas Instruments Incorporated and 3M. MATHCOUNTS was founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

About MathMovesU

Raytheon's MathMovesU® program is committed to increasing middle school students' interest in math and science education by engaging them in hands-on, interactive activities. The innovative programs of MathMovesU include Raytheon's Sum of all Thrills™ experience at INNOVENTIONS at Epcot^®, which showcases math in action as students design and experience their own thrill ride using math fundamentals; the "In the Numbers" game, a partnership with the New England Patriots on display at The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon; the company's three-year sponsorship of the National MATHCOUNTS competition; and the MathMovesU scholarship and grant program providing more than $1 million in annual funding to students and teachers. Follow us on Twitter @raytheonmmu.

Raytheon Company, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

SOURCE Raytheon Company