The Bob Jones University Bruins intercollegiate computer programming teams placed fifth overall at the Mid-Atlantic USA Regional Contest held Saturday, Nov. 10, at University of the North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
BJU entered three teams in the 168-team competition representing 58 colleges and universities. One BJU team—Nathan Collins, Samuel Henry and Jacob Brazeal—was one of only five teams to solve all eight contest problems in the five hour time limit and were the first place team at the UNC-Chapel Hill site.
The aim of the ICPC Mid-Atlantic USA Regional Contest Conference is to allow college students to demonstrate mastery of computer programming techniques and their ability to solve complex problems in a timed, competitive environment. Regional winners advance to the World Finals typically held in May.
“Since we competed in a different region this year and regions tend to vary in their problem styles, we weren’t sure what to expect. Our students rose to the challenge and secured the highest ranking that we have achieved since our inaugural participation in 2003,” said Dr. Jim Knisely, head of BJU’s Department of Computer Science. “It has been a joy to train this group and the seniors have had a great four years representing BJU.”
In addition to BJU, the College of William and Mary, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, The George Washington University, George Mason University, University of Maryland, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, United States Naval Academy, Villanova University, and Virginia Tech participated in the competition.
The BJU team members include senior Nathan Collins of Taylors, South Carolina; senior Sam Henry of McDonough, Georgia; junior Zachary Hayes of Grovetown, Georgia; senior Carter Shean of Latrobe, Pennsylvania; junior Ryan Longacre of Hallstead, Pennsylvania; junior Jeremiah England of Anchorage, Alaska; sophomore Steven Platt of Carmel, Indiana; senior Jacob Brazeal of Taylors, South Carolina; and freshman Erick Ross of Greenville, South Carolina.
In 2017, BJU was ranked fifth best school in the Southeast region and won first place at the College of Charleston. The previous best showing was eighth place overall. A top five finish should bring an invitation to the North American Invitational Programming Contest held in spring 2019.
