Texas Teen Repeats to Become First 2x Winner of Raytheon MATHCOUNTS® National Competition

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2018

Luke Robitaille won the final round of the 2018 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition by answering the question: "The first three terms of an infinite arithmetic sequence are 3.46, 2.47 and 1.48, in that order. What is the first integer term in this sequence?" during the Countdown Round, in which the top 12 Mathletes^® competed in head-to-head matchups. He gave the correct answer, -50, in 14.55 seconds. As National Champion, Luke Robitaille is the recipient of the $20,000 Donald G. Weinert College Scholarship and a trip to U.S. Space Camp.

For the second year in a row, Luke Robitaille was the top-ranked competitor going into the Countdown Round, based on his written test scores. Robitaille competed head-to-head again this year against Texas teammate eighth grader Andrew Cai, age 14, of Quail Valley Middle School in Sugar Land, Texas, who was the Countdown Round Runner-Up. The semifinalists were: Daniel Yuan an 8^th grader from North Potomac, Md., and Daniel Xia, an 8^th grader from Basking Ridge, N.J.

In the team competition, Texas captured the title of First Place Team for the third consecutive year. Team members include Andrew Cai, Jacob David, Rithvik Ganesh and Luke Robitaille. The California state team took second place, and the New Jersey team placed third.

This is the tenth year that Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has served as title sponsor as part of its global commitment to science, technology, engineering and math education. To continue developing the next generation of technology innovators and math professionals, Raytheon will extend its sponsorship of this elite Mathlete competition until 2025.

"This competition plays a vital role in getting middle school students excited about math, and interested in becoming the next generation of scientists and engineers," said Raytheon Chairman and CEO Tom Kennedy. "They are our future. The passion, enthusiasm and mastery demonstrated by all these competitors is truly inspiring. This is why Raytheon is proud to continue sponsoring the MATHCOUNTS National Competition through 2025 – because we believe in these young people, and we look forward to watching them solve the challenges of tomorrow, such as those in robotics, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity."