2026 SLOHS Graduate Chloe Elliot poses with her Trig-Star plaque. She won the competition at the school, county, and state level. Photo courtesy of Wesley Bisheff
The Trig-Star exam is a competition where high school students around the country compete to be crowned national champion at trigonometry. Thanks to the efforts of San Luis Obispo’s math department and determined students, SLOHS has produced this year’s first and third place California Trig-Star champions: SLOHS graduates Chloe Elliot and Kanna Mashio, respectively. Right before graduation, Elliot took the national exam, and will hear results this summer.
Expressions: How did it feel finding out that you are the state Trig-Star champion?
2026 SLOHS Graduate Chloe Elliot: It was definitely really unexpected for me. I feel like I went in with very low expectations. I was really happy to find out and very pleasantly surprised. Mr. Bristol did a good job preparing us further than I had expected, because the test went a lot better than I felt going in.
Expressions: What went into preparing for the exams?
Elliot: It was mostly preparation during class time with the materials that Mr. Bristol provided, such as previous practice tests and mostly just making sure I knew how to most efficiently use the calculator to complete the problems that we were given.
Expressions: What is on the test?
Elliot: It’s composed of four problems. The first three are generally the same from year to year, consisting of different triangle and quadrilateral shapes with which you have to find angles and measurements using trigonometry. And then the fourth problem is always a harder challenge problem that still utilizes trigonometry to find more complex distances and angles.
Expressions: What are your expectations for national results?
Elliot: There were some complications with what calculator I could use that definitely slowed me down a bit, so I don’t have huge expectations timing wise. I felt like I knew how to do most of the problems and I got the answers to all of them, but it did take me longer than I feel like it could.
Expressions: How will you continue to pursue math in the future?
Elliot: Next year, I’m going to be majoring in applied mathematics at UC Berkeley, so I think I definitely wanna pursue a career somewhat math related and I’ll continue studying it in the future.
Whether or not Elliot’s trigonometric hot streak continues, she will surely continue to achieve a lot in the world of math.
Sources: trig-star.com
