PLYMOUTH - The team from Fairgrounds Middle School in Nashua won top honors at the 30th annual MATHCOUNTS state competition held at Plymouth State University on Saturday.

And four students who scored highest in the state contest will head to Washington D.C., to represent New Hampshire in the national competition in May.

They are: Ria Das from the Academy for Science and Design in Nashua, first place; Nisha Devasia from Fairgrounds Middle School, second; Anusha Murali from Shaker Road School in Concord, third; and Michael Hong from Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, fourth.

The Academy of Science and Design placed second in the team competition, and the Cardigan Mountain School team placed third.

The competition, for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Society of Professional Engineers and the New Hampshire Teachers of Mathematics.

Students first compete at their local schools and then at the regional level. The three winning teams from each of six regions, along with top-scoring individuals not represented on those teams, then compete at the state level to determine who will represent New Hampshire at the national competition on May 10.

At the state meet, students take three written tests. The 12 top-scoring competitors then compete in the Countdown Round, a fast-paced test in which the questions are projected on a screen and the students have a maximum of 45 seconds in which to answer.

Seema Sundara will coach the state team and will accompany the students to the national competition. Natalya Vinogradova from the Mathematics department coordinated the activities at Plymouth State University.