When Drew Brown walked into the UIL State Academic Meet, he already knew one thing: he had prepared as much as he possibly could.
Months of practice tests, calculator programming and studying previous exams had led the Collinsville High School junior to the biggest mathematics competition of the year. By the end of the day, Brown’s preparation paid off with a fifth-place finish in the state, cementing his place among Texas’ top math competitors.
“First, kind of pre-district into District, I would say a lot of the preparation was just reviewing tests that we’ve taken,” Brown said. “A lot of the prep was just getting that actual in-classroom competition and competing against other kids at practice meets.”
UIL mathematics requires students to solve advanced problems under strict time constraints. Competitors have 40 minutes to complete a 60-question exam.
As the season progresses, so does the difficulty.
“Going into district, and especially prepping for district, a lot of that is just looking at the tests, reviewing what is commonly written about and then trying to learn that stuff,” Brown said.
After District competition, Brown said the work intensified.
“As soon as you get done with District, the prep gets a lot harder because the test starts getting a lot harder,” he said. “A lot of the prep for regionals for me was creating programs with my calculator, just learning as much new information as I can.”
By the time state arrived, Brown’s focus shifted away from learning new concepts and toward mastering the skills he already had.
“As you’re going towards state, it kind of relaxes a little bit because you already know pretty much what you’re going to know,” he said. “A big thing prepping for the State test is just reviewing and making sure you have everything down, and you have it as quickly as you can.”
The preparation paid off throughout the season.
Brown entered district competition hoping to repeat as champion after winning the title the previous year. While the result met his expectations, performing at Regionals demanded more.
“For District Champ, that was kind of my expectation going in,” Brown said. “I wanted to win district, and I wanted to win Regionals.”
The previous year had ended in disappointment, making this season’s Regional championship especially meaningful.
“Last year I did really bad at Regionals,” Brown said. “So I’d say that this year, winning it was a big excitement for me and just really showed me that all the preparation had worked and it mattered when it mattered the most.”
One unusual aspect of Brown’s season was that his score increased at every level of competition, even as the tests became more difficult. Brown said greater preparation offset the increased difficulty.
“You think that as it gets harder, the test gets harder as you move on,” he said. “But it’s just because you have a ton more preparation for each test and you kind of know a little bit more what to expect.”
When state competition finally arrived, Brown approached the day with a mixture of confidence and perspective.
While some nerves were unavoidable, Brown found comfort in realizing he had already accomplished something significant just by reaching the state meet.
“What helped me calm down a little bit was just I realized at the end of the day I made it to the state competition,” he said. “If I do bad, at least I made it here. I’ll be some of the top in the state.”
Brown also entered the competition with realistic expectations. Four competitors from another school had consistently posted higher scores throughout the season, making a state title unlikely.
“I didn’t really expect myself to get first just because there were kids outscoring me by a lot,” he said.
Instead, Brown set a personal benchmark.
“I told our UIL director, Mrs. Davenport, beforehand, ‘If I at least make a 200, no matter what place I get, I’ll be happy about it,’” he said. “Because 200 would have won the state meet last year.”
When the test ended, Brown felt confident enough to estimate where he might place.
“I was really hoping to at least medal and just get top six,” he said.
After the test was done, Davenport first revealed his score but not his placement. Brown posted exactly 200 points.
“For the state test, I answered 37 questions,” he said. “I was just happy about the 200 overall.”
The suspense continued until the awards ceremony, where Brown was announced at fifth place.
“When the awards came on and they said that the sixth place was not me, it was just definitely super exciting and a fun experience to have,” Brown said.
Outside of UIL, Brown is already tackling advanced coursework, finishing his junior year with Honors Pre-Calculus, college algebra and college statistics under his belt.
His success this year has only raised expectations for his senior season.
For a competitor who spent months preparing for every possible problem, the next challenge is already clear.
“As far as UIL goes next year, there’s nothing but first place for me in my mind,” he said. “...I’d still be happy if I got second or third, but at the end of the day, my goal is first place, and that’s all I really expect next year.”