Sayan Das, a sixth-grader at Westwood Middle School in Blaine, excels in academics, and he's always looking for new ways to stretch himself.

Last month, his interest took him to the American Math Challenge, which he found online. He entered, and he ended up in first place -- outdoing 71,969 students in grades K-12 from around the country who joined the virtual competition.

It's not the first time that the 11-year-old has displayed such abilities, and probably not the last.

In a World Math Day competition in March of this year, which is a similar online event, he was No. 1 in the United States for his age group and 14th internationally. A day later, he set the curve in World Spelling Day.

But Das is humble about his achievements.

Reflecting on the American Math Challenge, which starts by testing math knowledge according to grade level, he said that on the first day, "I just tried not to strike out, to survive."

On day two, Das used his math skills to help plan his strategy. Faced with 100 real-time matches with other students whose skills were comparable to his, "I calculated the average I needed," he said.

He saved the easiest levels for last. It was close to midnight when he finished the competition that's all about speed and accuracy. "It was fun. I had a goal and I accomplished it," he said, adding that he can't wait for the iPad he won.

Math comes naturally for him, he said. "Right when I see the numbers I type [the answer]," he said. "It's automatic, or robotic."

Math is his favorite subject because "there's an answer to every problem."

But Das, who is fluent in four languages, is also advanced in other areas. A speed-reader, he can get through an entire Harry Potter book within a couple of hours. At first, he said, "my teachers thought I was looking at the pictures. They didn't believe that I was reading."

It also helps that he's a fast typist, he says.

Challenging himself

Besides practicing as much as he could, Das gives credit to one of his former teachers, Douglas Cox, who encouraged him in this direction. "That's how I got here," Das said.

Cox, a teacher at Westwood Intermediate School, had Das in both fourth and fifth grades.

He noticed that Das seemed to get into World Math Day right away. "Next thing you know, he's YouTubing this kid from Australia, who is literally doing two or three computations a second," he said.

'A burning desire'

Das modeled his technique for performing in World Math Day after a three-time world champion, who goes by the name of Kaya G. "He did it outside of school and pushed himself," Cox said, adding, "He has a burning desire to challenge himself in every possible facet."

In the competition, Das whipped through 60 to 70 math problems a minute. "He calculated the answers so quickly, you couldn't see the answer on the screen," Cox said. "It was crazy."

Motivated by that experience, Das continued on to the American Math Challenge. If it weren't for Das, Cox says he wouldn't even know about that contest. "It's been a give-and-take relationship. He challenges me and I challenge him," which he says makes his job all the more fun.

The two hope to organize a World Math Day team for this coming spring.

Anna Pratt is a Minneapolis freelance writer.