McCULLY — No sooner had Washington Middle School made history than its mathletes began thinking maybe they could do it again.

They'll get the chance when two of the four math team members, along with a student from Mililani Middle and another from Parker School, attend the national MathCounts competition next month in Texas.

Their goal: to place in the top 10, something a Hawai'i team has never done.

The team from Washington Middle recently became the first public school to win the annual Hawai'i State MathCounts Competition, upsetting perennial champions 'Iolani and Punahou schools. Since the competition started here in 1984, 'Iolani and Punahou were the only schools to take the title, until this year.

Washington Middle beat out 'Iolani by three-fourths of a point.

Though it's been weeks since the stunning win, the frenzy hasn't died down yet.

A banner announcing the victory, which hung outside the school on the fence fronting King Street, is still up on campus. And alumni, parents and people in the community are still calling the school to congratulate the team on its win.

"People are really happy for us," said principal Mike Harano.

The members of Washington Middle's team are Richard Chang, Julia Chen, Jonathan Huang and Naoki Shigeta.

"I guess it was a really huge thing," said Chen, 14, who wants to be a civil engineer. "I didn't really expect to beat 'Iolani. I thought we'd be second."

Huang, 13, just wanted to beat Pearl City Highlands. He had no idea Washington Middle would be in contention for No. 1.

"It's such an honor," Huang said. "It felt great, on top of the world."

The team practiced together two to three times a week for at least two hours leading up to the March 10 competition at Kamehameha Schools. They juggled homework, band practice, student government meetings and basketball games to study for the annual math meet.

Cynthia Ching, one of two math coaches and a seventh-grade math teacher at Washington Middle, even sent the students home with math problems to work on.

"We encourage them to do their best," Ching said. "But like in any kind of tournament, if you really want to win, you have to practice. And they are very self-motivated."

MathCounts is a national math competition for middle schoolers.

The questions include algebra, geometry and probability.

This year 'Iolani finished second and Punahou came in third.

"I'm just really happy," said Ching. "It shows that public schools produce a lot of good students and they can compete (against those from) private schools."

Though this is the first time Washington Middle School has won the state MathCounts title, the school has produced many talented math competitors, or "mathletes," over the years.

Five of the nine members of the McKinley High School math team that beat 'Iolani in the O'ahu Mathematics League in October 2006 — and stopped its 66-match winning streak — were from Washington Middle.

"When I tell my staff and students that Washington Middle School is the best middle school in Hawai'i, public or private, I really mean that," said Harano of the Title I school, where more than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — a common measure of poverty.

In addition to taking home the perpetual first-place team trophy, Shigeta and Chang were named to the state team, which will compete in the national MathCounts competition May 11 in Fort Worth.

Shigeta and Chang took first and second place, respectively, in the Countdown Round, which secured their spots on the state team.

They will be joined by William Gaul of Mililani Middle School and Kimo Hon of Parker School in Waimea, Hawai'i.

"This is unprecedented," Harano said. "We knew that our two top students were really good. So if there was ever going to be a year that we would have a chance (at winning the title), this was that year. For it to all come together was very gratifying."

The team's success, Ching pointed out, had to do with how well they worked together.

"They all love problem-solving," Ching said. "They really complement each other, and they all learn from each other. They're very compatible."

Though Shigeta, the lone seventh-grader on the team, and Chang were in the Top 3 individually, their other teammates had to improve their individual scores to secure the team title.

"It was a total team effort," said Ching, who will coach the state team. "They knew they could've moved up to No. 1. ... The other two really came through for (the team)."

Hawai'i has never broken into the Top 10 in the national competition, Ching said.

That's Chang and Shigeta's goal.

"I think we'll do really good in the team round," said Chang, 13, who wants to be either an engineer or scientist.

If not, there's always high school math competitions.

And it should be interesting next year, when Chen and Huang move on to McKinley High, while Chang will attend rival 'Iolani.

"I learned that public schools can compete, and that the stigma (about public school students) is wrong," said Huang, 13, who wants to be a real estate investor. "I hope this gives more respect to public school teams."

Reach Catherine E. Toth at ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.