On Friday, April 21, 2017, five teams of six Earlham High School students competed in the Purple Comet Math Contest.  It is an online competition in which 2869 teams from 59 countries participated in grades 7-12 this year.  One of the Earlham teams won first place among the small Iowa schools (fewer than 1200 students) by beating out Newton High School with one more problem correct.  This team consisted of Grant Becker (12), Ehlana Brown (9), Bethany Connon (11), Joey Harkins (12), Alexis Huls (10), and Jim Knight (11).  They were in the top half of the small high schools from around the globe and close to the top half of the small U.S. high schools.  Earlham’s second place team was just one point behind Newton.  It consisted of Larain Climer (10), Allison Crees (12), Kate Eckard (12), Eva Fisk (9), Dane Rasmussen (11), and Nate Willem (11).  This is a free contest, but they are always looking for donations to pay for network costs, question design, and translating at www.purplecomet.org.