A total of 158 Kentucky middle school students from 54 schools participated Saturday in the State MATHCOUNTS Competition at Louisville's Galt House.

It is a national math coaching and competition program designed to develop and strengthen math, science, leadership and teamwork skills in middle school students.

Winners were Yue Zhang of Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville, coached by Greg Moore, first place; Kathleen Yang of Winburn Middle School in Lexington, coached by Daniel Jenkins, second place; Shravan Ravishankar of Noe Middle School in Louisville, coached by Stephanie Fields, third place; Yuhan Long of Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville, coached by Greg Moore, fourth place.

Each of the top four students was awarded a full-tuition, four-year college scholarship to either the University of Kentucky or the

University of Louisville. They each also won an expense-paid trip to the 2012 Raytheon MATHCOUNTS National Competition in Orlando, Fla., on May 11, where they will represent the state for the national title.

Each individual also will compete for additional scholarships, a trip to U.S. Space Camp, medals, and other awards.

The remaining top 10 students were:

Angeline He of Lexington Traditional Magnet School, coached by Brian Keith Durham, fifth place.

John Wang of Kentucky Country Day in Louisville, coached by Ann Poniah, sixth place.

Theo Livas of Winburn Middle School in Lexington, coached by Daniel Jenkins, seventh place.

Emily Liu of Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville, coached by Greg Moore, eighth place.

Mukund Venkatakrishnan of Noe Middle School in Louisville, coached by Stephanie Fields, ninth place.

Michael Pearson of Meyzeek Middle School in Louisville, coached by Greg Moore, tenth place.

Students finishing fifth through tenth each received a four-year, $1,500 scholarship per year to either the University of Kentucky or the University of Louisville.

Greg Moore, a teacher at Meyzeek Middle School, will coach the Kentucky team at the national competition. His team of four students won first among teams.

The remaining top 10 team winners (out of 28 competing teams) were:

Winburn Middle School in Lexington, coached by Daniel Jenkins, second.

Noe Middle School in Louisville, coached by Stephanie Fields, third.

Russell Middle Independent School in Russell, coached by John Vanhoose, fourth.

Kentucky Country Day in Louisville, coached by Ann Ponniah, fifth.

Lexington Traditional Magnet School, coached by Brian Durham, sixth.

Gayle H. Gray Middle School in Boone County, coached by Roseanna Koehler, seventh.

Campbell County Middle School, coached by Faye Smith, eighth.

Johnson County Middle School, coached by Pam Burton, ninth.

West Jessamine Middle School in Jessamine County, coached by Karen Dixon, tenth.

This is the 29th year for the competition, which was founded in 1983 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Insurance

Company, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.