The Los Alamos Odyssey of the Mind Team competed at the Colorado state tournament, earning two first place finishes and one second place finish. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Members of Los Alamos Odyssey of the Mind Team 1, from left, Coach Vickie Daley, Cate Dallman, Mei Downing Olsen, Jocelyne Dolejsi, Audrey Thornton, Tehya Thornton, Emi WIlson, Kenzie Bain and Coach Matt Allen. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Team 2 members include, from left, Coach Vickie Daley, Amalia Valdez, Lydia Condrey, Idris Ortega, Noah Walker, Anthony Thoren, Keiland Kolar, Brent Benkoski Coach and Matt Allen. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Members of Team 3 include, from left, Coach Vickie Daley, Rafa Rocha, Maverick Hoffer, Amelia Dolejsi, Alea Kretz, Drew Bacrania, Althea Benkoski and Coach Matt Allen (coach). Photo Courtesy LAPS
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Los Alamos Odyssey of the Mind (OOTM) sent three teams to compete in the Colorado state tournament, with all three placing in their divisions. Teams included students from Aspen Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School and Los Alamos High School.
Team one did Problem 3: Classics … Cooking with Books and placed first in the middle school division. Team members include Jocelyne Dolejsi, 6th grade; Audrey Thornton, 6th grade; Cate Dallman, 6th grade; Mei Downing Olsen, 6th grade; Kenzie Bain, 4th grade; Emi Wilson, 4th grade and Tehya Thornton, 4th grade.
Team two did Problem 5: AstronOMical Odyssey. They also competed in the middle school division and garnered second place. Team members are Amalia Valdez, 6th grade; Keiland Kolar, 6th grade; Noah Walker, 6th grade; Brent Benkoski, 6th grade; Idris Ortega, 5th grade; Lydia Condrey, 5th grade and Anthony Thoren, 5th grade.
Odyssey of the Mind categorizes middle school as grades 6th-8th, so the Aspen Elementary students competed against other teams that were older than them.
Team three also did Problem 5: AstronOMical Odyssey and earned first place in the high school division. This team included veteran team members (many are former Aspen Tigers) LAHS sophomores Alea Kretz and Drew Bacrania, and LAMS 7th grader Maverick Hoffer, along with freshmen Amelia Dolejsi and Rafa Rocha. Aspen Elementary kindergartner Althea Benkoski also performed with the team.
Coaches Victoria Daley and Matt Allen reported that all the students did amazing.
“These kids worked tirelessly all year to put together these solutions. We are so proud of them for doing so well in the competition last weekend,” they said. “Most important, they worked super hard and had a great time with their team.”
Team trophies will be displayed at the school.
Odyssey of the Mind is the world’s largest problem-solving competition. It is best described as “STEM meets performing arts.”
Every year, teams from around the world choose a long-term problem to solve. Each solution is a skit that has various requirements. Some are based on classical literature, some have cars that need to be created, or some use balsa wood structures that need to hold the most weight. The website has more information: www.odysseyofthemind.com.
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