CANFIELD — Four Hilltop Elementary students have earned top honors for being problem-solvers.

Taking the first four spots for the fourth grade division at the Mahoning County Challenge 24 Tournament are: George Camuso, first place; Mason Wurst, second place; Ben Ignazio, third place; and Cayden Schiele, fourth place.

Hosted at Campbell Elementary, students from Mahoning and Trumbull counties took part in the tournament on Jan. 23.

Challenge 24 is a math game that includes four numbers on a single card. Using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, all four numbers on the card must be used to equal 24.

Introducing Challenge 24 last year to both C.H. Campbell Elementary and Hilltop, district math coach and teacher Shari Munno said that first- and second-grade students began with the addition and subtraction version of the game. The numbers on the cards are mostly single digits.

Third- and fourth-grade students also practice single digits, while some students are challenged with double digits.

Students play the game at lunch and during math workplaces, Munno said.

To ace the game, Munno said: “Confidence is the key to students believing they can do any problem put in front of them.”

In classrooms, teachers provide students with a toolbox of strategies. The various strategies allow students to choose different ways to solve the mathematic problem on each card.

Munno enjoys seeing students work on math problems together to achieve a solution. “It is so exciting to see the diverse culture of math learners we are developing in our classrooms,” she said.

George, 10, said that in his case, practice made perfect. When he first played the game last year in the third grade, “I really liked it so I practiced a lot and got pretty good,” he recalled.

The fourth grade students played a tournament held at school, which qualified teams to advance to the county-wide tournament.

Having two weeks prior to practice, Munno said the students worked every day after school until 4:30 p.m.

“Some days,” Munno said, “we extended the practices to 5 p.m. because the students wanted to play and practice even more.”

George said he even practiced at home with his family.

The excitement carried through right up to the tournament, Munno added.

Her lessons are more than math, she said. ” I am continually stressing to the students to be the best mathematicians they can be and to persevere through challenging tasks.”