By DEEP PATEL, Gazebo Assistant Editor

Stratford’s math team finished the season with a distinct “Class A” title. It competed in the 40th annual state mathematics tournament at Middle Georgia State University on April 30, bringing home first place.

Shishir Bandi, Nischal Bandi, Om Sakhalkar and Sammy Martin represented Stratford, and were coached by math teacher Bobby Stecher.

“I was hoping for a good turnout because we had all our students from last year except one,” Stecher said.

Stratford competed against math teams from three other local private schools: Tattnall Square, First Presbyterian and Mount de Sales. Overall, there were 34 schools in the tournament, which is sponsored by the Georgia Council of Teachers of Mathematics (GCTM).

The victory came as a surprise to the team.

“The title wasn’t initially expected because of results in the past years,” said sophomore Nischal Bandi. “However, Om managed to rise up and outperform Shishir and me, which helped us get the extra points to win the title.”

April also was a big month for Nischal’s older brother, senior Shishir Bandi. He was a Golden Eagle nominee in math and one of 30 high school students statewide to be honored by Kennesaw State University for excellence in math.

“Being a Golden Eagle nominee and a finalist in the Kennesaw State Math Tournament were both huge honors. It was very humbling to have been recognized in both,” Bandi said. “I’m happy to have ended my math legacy at Stratford on a strong note.”