Classmates of Echo High School junior Dustin Goldie have one word to describe his ability to memorize long series of numbers: inhuman.

How do you do that? senior Devin Sather asked Goldie Monday after he finished reciting the first 350 digits of the number Pi back to him. Those were all right. I dont know how you do that.

Every year for the past three years, Goldie has set out to memorize more digits of the number in honor of Pi Day, March 14. Because this year Pi Day falls on Friday, when the school is out of session, students in Echo teacher Steven Carnes math classes, as well as many others in the school, will file into the school cafeteria Thursday afternoon to watch as Goldie recites as many digits as he can of the never-ending number without a pattern.

Goldie said he hopes to have memorized the first 1,057 digits of Pi, also the same number of digits that fills an entire side of an 8.5- by 11-inch piece of paper at about size 14 font, by Thursday.

Goldie is confident he can meet his goal, stating he can definitely do it.

He said memorizing the series has been easier than he thought it would be.

I can see it all in my head, he said.

Goldie originally decided to try reciting the number Pi during his freshman year when Carnes offered his math class the opportunity.

That first year, freshman year, I didnt want to do it at all, he said. I thought it was stupid but then, a few days before the competition, I started memorizing the numbers. I thought it was really easy, so I thought I was going to lose.

That year, Goldie memorized 111 digits more than 70 more than any of his other peers. Last year, he recited 325 digits, still beating all his classmates.

As for how he goes about remembering so many digits, Goldie said he concentrates on four numbers at a time, recites them in his head and then adds another four.

There is not really a trick to it, he said.

Goldies brother Jesse, an eighth-grader, joined in the competition last year, where he recited 116 digits. He said he uses the same process for remembering the numbers four digits at a time as his brother.

Jesse Goldie said his goal this year is to beat 356 digits, which would overtake his brothers record last year.

In addition to his brother, Dustin Goldies English teacher Elizabeth Wilks will challenge her student, as well. She said she hopes to have more than 150 digits memorized by Thursday.

He was just talking smack, Wilks said Monday afternoon. I told him people memorize lines of Shakespeare, so memorizing numbers shouldnt be that hard. So with that, I thought I had better put my money where my mouth is.

Goldie is currently ranked among the top 150 in the world and his brother is ranked 231 for recitation of Pi digits. If Goldie accomplishes his goal of reciting 1,057 digits, he will advance to 57th, according to the Pi World Ranking List website. If Jesse Goldie recites 356 digits, he will advance his world ranking to 126th.

In the last two years of competition, the winner of the schools competition has been given a scientific graphing calculator, valued at more than $90. This year, however, the winning student will receive an iPad Mini, valued at approximately $300.

In addition to the Goldies and other student and teacher attempts at memorizing digits of Pi, students will bring in pies of their own creation to be judged by teachers. Last years co-winner of the pie-baking contest, senior Jessica Wallace, said she will return this year to hopefully make an equally delicious pie.

She said she has no idea what kind of pie she will make yet, but she will again give the competition her all.

I love baking and cooking, Wallace said. I dont do it very often, but I love it.

The Pi recitation and pie-judging competitions will begin at 3:15 p.m. Thursday at Echo School.