Manhattan Beach Teams Earn Top Marks at Odyssey of the Mind World Championships
Jun 08, 2023 10:10AM ● By Mb News Staff
The first-place winning Mira Costa Team B at the awards ceremony: Audrey Treger, Daisei Horiguchi, Brian Fan (coach), Sierra Wolbert, Dr. Sam (Odyssey founder), Zachary Green, Charlotte Fan, (not pictured: Matthew Chang)
Three Manhattan Beach teams competed in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals this year, bringing home top awards in the international creative problem-solving competition.
All three teams placed in their problem divisions at the world competition, which was held at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan from
May 24 - 27. The annual event brought together 741
teams and nearly 6,000 students - including teams from South Korea, China, Japan, Singapore,
Poland, Mexico, Brazil, France and Switzerland - and an audience of more than 10,000
people.
To earn a spot in the World Finals, the Manhattan Beach teams had competed at the regional tournament in March, and
at the state tournament in Moreno Valley in April.
"The teams have been
practicing together since September, and devoted countless hours to
script writing, set and costume and prop creation, practicing the skits,
and spontaneous problem preparation," said parent Lindsay Geida.
The official scores can be seen here.
Mira Costa Team B Wins First Place in Problem 4
Mira Costa's Team
B scored a first-place win, taking home the World Champion title in Problem 4, Division 3 in their first year in
the high school division. (They had previously won the Odyssey Problem 4 in the middle school division at the World Finals in 2021). Problem 4 requires teams to build a balsa wood structure that is capable of supporting increasing amounts of weight.
Team B members include Matthew Chang, Charlotte Fan, Zachary Green, Daisei Horiguchi, Audrey Treger, and Sierra Wolbert; along with Coach (and parent) Brian Fan.
Worth noting: This win makes Mira
Costa High School the first and only elementary, middle, or high school in Odyssey
history to have ever won three consecutive World Championships in a problem, according to Coach Brian Fan. (Mira Costa's Team A won the P4 Division 3 world championship for Mira Costa in 2021 and 2022, and Team B won the P4 Division 3 world championship in 2023.)
(Team B Props
& Costumes (left to right): Daisei Horiguchi, Audrey Treger,
Matthew Chang, Sierra Wolbert, Charlotte Fan, Zachary Green)Mira Costa Team A Places 4th in Problem 4
Mira
Costa's Team A, also coached by Brian Fan, tied for
4th in their problem division after setting a new world record for
creating a 15-gram structure of balsa wood that could sustain 1270 pounds of weight.
The team is made up of Brian Chiu,
Andrew Fan, Ashlyn Green, Luke Green, Ella Kim, and Abi Seo. This
is the team's 8th and final year doing Odyssey together.
The team was previously World Champion in
2021 and 2022 and was also a World Finals Ranatra Fusca recipient in
2019 (Odyssey's highest honor for outstanding creativity).
(Team A showing off their record tower weight (left to right): Ella Kim, Ashlyn Green, Abi Seo, Luke Green, Andrew Fan, Brian Chiu.)Pacific Elementary Places 4th in Problem 5
The Pacific Elementary team, coached by Pacific 2nd grade teacher Michelle Lautanen, placed 4th out of 64 teams in one of the most
competitive problem divisions (having previously placed first in 2022 and
2021). Problem 5 is a "dramatic" problem requiring teams to create a humorous performance about a dramatic character that overreacts to common events.
The Pacific team is made up of 5th graders Lara Geida, Zayaan Mehrotra, Campbell Park, Vivienne
Schneider, Noah Segil, and Gabe Segil. The group has been together since 3rd grade and it is the team's third year
doing Odyssey - as well as their third time attending World Finals.
Also worth noting: The team was only one of three teams in Odyssey's 44-year history to
have won back-to-back World Championships in Problem 5 and also the only
team to have accomplished those back-to-back victories in Division 1 (Elementary).
(The Pacific team in their state championship gear at opening ceremonies: Zayaan Mehrotra, Noah Segil, Vivienne Schneider, Lara Geida, Gabe Segil, Campbell Park)Odyssey of the Mind is an international competition that involves a combination of theater and problem
solving with a creative twist. Through the writing of original scripts,
the creation of costumes, props, scenery, and technical elements, teams
of students work together to solve
problems creatively. Students with talents in many
areas find a unique opportunity to showcase their gifts in script
writing, costume creation, music, dance, visual arts, props and scenery
construction, engineering, problem solving, leadership, critical
thinking, and more.
