The school wins third- and 21st-place in the worldwide contest, which tests kids' problem-solving skills.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published June 4, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - A group of Shorecrest Preparatory eighth-graders returned from a world competition Sunday night toting some extra baggage.
In their possession was a 3-foot trophy and 14 bronze medallions, one for each team member who participated in the Odyssey of the Mind world finals at Iowa State University.
Following impressive wins in regional and state battles earlier this year, two Shorecrest teams earned third- and 21st-place spots in the final event of the quirky contest that encourages teamwork and creative thinking.
Odyssey of the Mind regional director Freda Abercrombie, who has been cheering for the students since they began competing five years ago, said their success was well deserved.
"I'm really proud of them," she said. "I literally watched those kids grow up. They've got really big medals to show off now."
Shorecrest was the only Pinellas school to make it to this year's world finals, which drew contestants from as far as Singapore and Germany. The international flavor of the event heightened the thrill, said coach Dolores Walker.
Along with fellow Shorecrest mom Patty Hoel, Walker coached a team that included Jeffrey Hooi, Andrew Buckspan, Sonya Nanda, Taylor Hoel, Alyson Walker, Josh Gordon and Kim Messier. The students competed with 42 other teams to solve a problem called "A Scene from Above," which asked them to design, build and run three small vehicles with different power sources. The vehicles operated inside a three-dimensional representation of a scene of the Earth as viewed from space.
Their third-place finish was gratifying after all their hard work, Walker said.
"I told them, "This is your most personal best. You couldn't ask for anything better.' "
The other Shorecrest team, coached by Pam Levitt, competed with 54 teams to solve the "Know It All" problem. Ben Sabol, Tina Gromadzki, Kendyl Tash, Kendra Kesty, Kim Levitt, Myles Saron and Kaitlin Benchimol designed and built a character possessing artificial intelligence that spoke, moved and performed team-created actions.
Unfortunately, the students encountered technical difficulties during their performance. A few of their props were damaged en route to Iowa, which caused them to lose points. They endured the added stress of a box that didn't arrive until the last minute.
"They did the best they could in those circumstances," Levitt said. "They just flowed as best they could with it, but they were so disappointed because they knew how good it could be."
Two judges from Florida stopped by to congratulate the students before closing ceremonies Saturday night.
"They said, "You tell the kids they had a world-class project,' " Levitt said. "It was just one of those days when the technical things didn't go right."
The students, who missed a few days of school, arrived back in town just in time to enjoy their eighth-grade graduation party. The rest of the school will have to wait to see the trophy, which will occupy a place of honor in Shorecrest's trophy case.
