SANFORD - Central Carolina Community College hosted a statewide math competition for North Carolina community colleges on Saturday, Nov. 14. Ten colleges participated in the competition.

Forsyth Technical Community College was the first-place winner. Wake Technical Community College finished in second place, and Central Piedmont Community College took third place.

"Our team didn't win overall, but we had a great time at the competition," said Kaan Ozmeral, math instructor at the CCCC Chatham Campus and one of the competition organizers.

CCCC team members were Doug Amrhein, of Chapel Hill, Jarrett Cole, of Pittsboro, Patrick Crutchfield, of Pittsboro, Stephan Kelly, of Broadway, Ian Kho, of Cary, Cameron Page, of Sanford, Tyler Rodriguez, of Sanford, Joshua Romero, of Sanford, Erik Switzer, of Spring Lake, and Cory Thomas, of Sanford.

Out of approximately 60 students, Kho tied for third highest score on the morning Calculus exam. Amrhein, Cole, Kho, and Page placed sixth out of 17 in the afternoon team competition.

The most important aspect of the competition is the opportunity to build a sense of community and confidence among the participants, according to Ozmeral.

CCCC team member Erik Switzer, who attends the CCCC Lee Campus where he is pursuing an Associate in Applied Science degree, said he is looking to transfer to N.C. State University and work on either a chemistry or chemical engineering degree.

"We studied hard for the competition and our instructors helped a lot," Switzer said before the competition. "I'm not really nervous about the competition because I feel ready and I know it will help me prepare for a university degree."

For more information about Central Carolina Community College's math and science programs, visit the website at www.cccc.edu.