SOMERS - The USA Computing Olympiad team turned in a medal-winning performance at the 19th International Olympiad in Informatics. The team, composed of the country's top high school computer programmers, joined competitors from more than 70 countries in Zagreb, Croatia, in August.

"All of our team members won a medal," said USACO Director Don Piele, an emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. "The team won two golds, one silver and a bronze medal and two of our competitors finished in the top 10. Overall, (it was) a very good result."

The USA gold medalists were IOI veterans John Pardon, a graduate of Durham Academy in Durham, N.C., and Richard "Matt" McCutchen, a graduate of Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. Pardon earned his third IOI gold while finishing fifth overall in the competition. He is attending Princeton University.

McCutchen claimed his second IOI gold medal to go along with a silver medal in his three years at the international competition. McCutchen, who is attending the University of Maryland, finished ninth overall at Zagreb.

Chinese exchange student Ye Wang earned a silver medal during the IOI. A junior, she attended Nicolete High School in Glendale during the 2006-07 school year. David Benjamin, a sophomore at William Henry Harrison High School in West Lafayette, Ind., earned a bronze medal. Complete results of the 19th IOI are available on the Web site at: http://ioi2007.hsin.hr/index.php?pageresults

USACO administers the country's premier pre-college computer programming competitions. The non-profit organization conducts six Web-based programming contests leading up to the U.S. Open. The 2007 team was selected at the USA Computer Olympiad held in Colorado Springs, Colo., in May and June. More information is available at www.usaco.org on the Web.

USACO is sponsored by USENIX, IBM, and ITA Software.