June 25, 2021

USC team places second at World Finals

A team of recent Upper St. Clair High School graduates placed second in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals, held June 11-12 in Orlando. Team members included Victoria Cuba, Brianna Lin, Joseph Markovitz, Max Murtough, Sammie Seewald, Constantine Tripodes and Eric Wang. The team is coached by Laura Murtough, Stacey Seewald and Meridith Markovitz.

“The team has had great success during their six years together and while this was their fifth trip to World Finals, as graduating seniors, it was also their last,” Mrs. Murtough said. “It was a fantastic end to their journey together.”

In addition to earning a second-place finish in the performance problem for division three, the team was honored with the Omer Award in recognition of their creativity, which “wowed the judging team at every turn” and led the judges to note that “they are truly something special.”

The team qualified to advance to the World Finals after earning first place at the Virtual Pennsylvania Odyssey State Finals in April.

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.”

Visit www.uscootm.com to learn more about Upper St. Clair Odyssey of the Mind.