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Upper St. Clair School District

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12 Odyssey of the Mind teams advance to states

Group photo of a first place Odyssey of the Mind team from Fort Couch

A record 12 teams from Upper St. Clair earned top spots at the annual Western Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind Regional Tournament – qualifying to advance to the state finals on April 5, 2025, at Pocono Mountain East Campus in Swiftwater, Pennsylvania.

Group photo of a first place Odyssey of the Mind team from Fort Couch

In total, 24 Upper St. Clair teams, comprising 149 students with representation from all six of the district’s schools, competed against teams from across the region. The regional tournament was held on Saturday, March 8, at Keystone Oaks Middle and High Schools.

The following teams are advancing to the Pennsylvania Odyssey of the Mind State Finals:


Division 1 (grades 3-5)

The team from Baker Elementary School that solved the performance problem earned third place. Team members include Lipi Kairi, Harrison Snavely, Max Allen, Lily Wang, Erika Bonnell, Jackson Beck, Chase Ingalise. This team is coached by Betsy Allen, Nicole Beck, and Kelly Ingalise.

The team from Eisenhower Elementary School that solved the Classics problem earned second place. Team members include Kara Mercer, Abigail Elders, Amelia Wilkinson, Jackson Hollihan, Isidora Lukic, Lilly Qian, and Julia Zambrano. This team is coached by Stefani Wilkinson and Sarah Hollihan.

The team from Streams Elementary School that solved the Balsa Problem earned second place. Team members include Adrianna Delesio, Nikola Tannenbaum, Ivabelle Bourg, Pacy Fischer, Ella Molina, Layla Pantano, and Patricia Drutis. This team is coached by Chris Bourg and Cassi Molina.

The team from Boyce Middle School that solved the Vehicle problem earned second place. Team members include Quin Thorp, Julia Ross, Ellie Finnegan, Cole Hirzel, Roman Duffy, Ben Caesar, and Emily Michalak. This team is coached by Brett Duffy and Nadine Michalak.


Division 2 (grades 6-8)

The team from Boyce Middle School that solved the Classics problem earned second place. Team members include Kendall Zielinski, Marcelina Enos, Penelope Collins, Elliot Sams, Lula Griffin, and Avery Metcalf. This team is coached by Sarah Sams and Jake Collins.

The team from Fort Couch Middle School that solved the Performance problem earned first place. Team members include Seth Pedretti, Austin Szpara, Enoch Katru, Violet McLeod, Luciana Putorti, Scarlett Burgess, James Conner. This team is coached by Kyle Burgess and Kristy Szpara.

The team from Fort Couch Middle School that solved the Vehicle problem earned first place. Team members include Em Brooks, Ari Carter, Axel Johnson, Alexis Hettich, Hadlèy Maxwell, Grace Reis, and Vienna Eisinger. This team is coached by Melissa Blackwood and Vonya Eisinger.

The team from Fort Couch Middle School that solved the Classics problem earned first place. Team members include Ava Fingal, Caroline Fingal, Sophia Lee, Keira Mycoff, Drew Holzer, Rehana Rai, and Lydia Calkins. This team is coached by Josh Mycoff and Doug Calkins.

The team from Fort Couch Middle School that solved the Technical problem earned second place. Team members include Prahan Munnaluri, Kip Hackett, Jacob Reinford, and Ivan Yanov. This team is coached by John Reinford.

The team from Fort Couch Middle School that solved the Performance problem earned third place. Team members include Colby Caplan, Izzy Dastur, Finley Garvey, Emily Geisler, and Evan Stover. This team is coached by Shanna Caplan and Chris Stover.


Division 3 (grades 9-12)

The team from Upper St. Clair High School that solved the Classics problem earned first place. Team members include Geneva Eisinger, Chloe Faist, Preston McLeod, Ian Putorti, Lauren Ginsburg, Daniyal Badaruddin and Kurt Baran. This team is coached by Dawn Predmore and Nate Eisinger.

The team from Upper St. Clair High School that solved the Technical problem earned first place. Team members include Kayden Dunkin, Sofiya Gorban, Ashwin Vasudevan, Thea Scheuerle, Daphne Collins, Nigel Bailey and Parker Sams. This team is coached by Sarah Sams and Jake Collins.

  • Baker
  • Boyce
  • Eisenhower
  • Fort Couch
  • Streams
  • USCHS