GAINESVILLE - Two teams from C.W. Davis Middle School placed first recently in their respective divisions at the State Odyssey of the Mind Tournament. As a result, the Stackable Structure team and the Not So Haunted House team have both qualified for the World Finals at Iowa State University May 27-June 1. A team from the Da Vinci Academy also qualified for the world finals.
Mac Arendall, Ava Hager, Hannah Lee, Connor McCary, Emily Shewbert, Misa Suh, and Sofia Torres make up the C.W. Davis Stackable Structure team, which is coached by Kim Carroll. Liset Cruz, Lauren Henares, Grae Kiscunas, Brina Lykins, Brook Lykins, Jaydan Robinson, and Jonathan Walls make up the school's Not So Haunted House team, which is coached by Cheri Greer.
In addition, a team from the Da Vinci Academy received the "Renato Fusco Award," which is given to the team that shows exceptional creativity. The award also carries an automatic qualifier to the World Finals. Kristina Nash, Roni Nash, Christi Diaz, Riley Catledge, Katie Burch, Avery Goss, and Kinsey Lee make up Team Tunkel, coached by David and Staci Tunkel.
More than 117 teams representing schools from across Georgia participated in the state competition.
The purpose of Odyssey of the Mind is to provide creative problem-solving opportunities for everyone and to foster original and divergent thinking. Through the Odyssey of the Mind program, we promote creativity by challenging teams to solve divergent problems, that is, those with more than one solution. By working in teams, participants learn teamwork, the appreciation and understanding of others, and that a group is a more powerful thinking force than an individual. They develop a sense of self-respect and respect for others through preparatory activities such as brainstorming and role playing.
Wednesday
September 3rd, 2025
5:07PM
