• March 13, 2018

    Six Odyssey of the Mind teams advance to states

    OM team Of the 19 Upper St. Clair teams that competed in the Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament, six teams qualified to advance to the state competition on April 7 in the Poconos.

    At the regional tournament, three Upper St. Clair teams placed first in their division and problem; one team placed second; and two placed third. The advancing teams are comprised of students from all building levels including two teams from the high school; one team from Fort Couch Middle School; two teams from Boyce Middle School; and one elementary team with students from Streams and Eisenhower.

    “Each team worked from October through March to creatively solve one of five problems from Odyssey's STEAM-based program, which requires that students receive no outside assistance from teachers, parents or friends,” Laura Murtough, coach and Odyssey of the Mind program co-coordinator, said.

    The teams advancing to the Pennsylvania Odyssey State Tournament represent Odyssey divisions I (elementary), II (middle school) and III (high school) and their 8-minute solutions include the vehicle, technical, classics, and performance problems. At the competitions, they are judged on creativity and risk-taking. 

    First Place:

    • Performance Problem - Division I (Boyce): Eva Dubreil, Komel Nulwala, Michael Conte, Anushka Sharma, Pritika Gupta, George Abdel-Messih and Benjamin Ross | Coaches: Batool Nulwala and Neelum Sharma
    • 1st Place - Technical Problem - Division I (Boyce): Esha Lathia, Anastasia Gzikowski, Ben Murtough, Owen Mucho, Jake Casares, Ben Seewald and Peter Markovitz | Coaches: Stacey Seewald, Meridith Markovitz and Laura Murtough
    • 1st Place - Vehicle Problem - Division III (USC High School): Christina Conte, Vivek Babu, Jacob Conte, Maggie Lowden, Isabella Putorti and Gracie Lowden | Coaches: Rachel Lowden and Beatrice Conte

    Second Place:

    • Classics Problem - Division III (USC High School): Sammie Seewald, Max Murtough, Victoria Cuba, Brianna Lin, Joseph Markovitz, Eric Wang, Constantine Tripodes | Coaches Laura Murtough, Meridith Markovitz and Stacey Seewald

    Third Place:

    • Performance Problem - Division I (Streams & Eisenhower): Ellie Simons, Geneva Eisinger, Lily Simons, Lauren Ginsburg, Addie Young, Kurt Baran and Collin Rosenberg | Coaches: Simon Rosenberg, Nate Eisinger and Artie Baran
    • Classics Problem - Division II (Fort Couch): Cameron Coller, Rosemary Ramirez, Josilyn Seftchick, Lindsay Ross, Jack Lowden, Cameron Weber and Mariam Abdel-Messih | Coaches: Kurt Weber and Mike Ross

    The Western Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind regional tournament was held Saturday, March 3, 2018, at Moon Area High School. Teams that finish first or second at the state-level competition on April 7, 2018, advance to the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals held May 23-26 at Iowa State University.

    According to its website, “Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving program for K-12 and college students. Students learn the value of brainstorming and teamwork, as they grow their self-confidence and appreciation for the ideas and strengths of others while in an encouraging team-focused atmosphere.”