Odyssey of the Mind teams advance to state finals
Posted: March 27, 2023
Three NNPS Odyssey of the Mind teams earned top honors in the 2023 Tidewater Regional Odyssey of the Mind Tournament held on Saturday, March 18, and will advance to compete in the Virginia Odyssey of the Mind State Finals on April 15 at Tuscarora High School in Northern Virginia.
Teams representing McIntosh Elementary School, Knollwood Meadows Elementary School and Booker T. Washington Middle School earned first place in their problem and division.
The McIntosh team, Ciprian Savage, Bryce Hulin, Reece Hulin, Emily Vandijk, Alondra Armstead, Nathalia Ramirez-Oliva, and Sahary Lugo-Rivera, coached by Sara Betzold, captured first place in the problem: Classics, The Walls of Troy.
The B.T. Washington team, comprised of Lydia Lynerd, Zoey Cox, Andrew Cochran, Claire Park, Gabriel Schyler, and Eleanor Bennett, and coached by Jessie Sprouse, also captured first place in their division with problem: Classics, The Walls of Troy.
Both teams had to put their spin on the popular concept of the "Trojan Horse" by creating one of their own. It had to be used to get past a wall in a performance that also included a character from The Iliad, an original Greek Chorus, and an unusual statue.
The team from Knollwood Meadows Elementary School, represented by Anna Kohaut, Yasmine Charak, Hayleigh Archibald, Joseph Pope, Ryan Zagursky, Christopher Rivera, and Sophia King, and coached by Lauren Hancock, earned first place in their problem, The Most Dramatic Problem Ever.
The team had to create a humorous performance about a dramatic character that overreacts to common events. The performance had to showcase different theatrical styles as the character overreacts.
The teams of students have worked since September to practice spontaneous problems and solve their specific long-term problem.
