CATONSVILLE, Md. - Teams from two Washington County and two Frederick County schools will advance to the Global Finals of the Destination ImagiNation academic competition after placing in the state event Saturday.
Williamsport High School placed first in its category and division. Clear Spring Elementary placed second, said Georgiana Keller, who helped judge the competition.
Frederick High School and Windsor Knolls Middle School from Frederick County each placed second in their divisions, Keller said.
The Williamsport team also won the Renaissance Award for Outstanding Performance.
"They did a wonderful job of showing that they're creative problem solvers," Keller said.
The four schools are part of the competition's Western Region, comprising Washington, Frederick, Carroll, Allegany and Garrett counties. They advanced to the state level after winning in the regional competition in March.
There were 22 teams in each division at Saturday's state competition.
The first- and second-place state winners will compete against schools from across the U.S. and other countries at the Global Finals May 23-28 at the University of Tennessee, Keller said.
The competition, formerly known as Odyssey of the Mind, challenges students to creatively solve problems within a time limit.
Williamsport's first-place finish was in the Anonymously Yours competition, in which students had to create a performance telling the story of an anonymous work of art they researched from another culture. The Frederick team placed second in that competition.
The Windsor Knolls team placed in the Dynamic IMPROV competition, in which students had to develop an improvisational performance based on one planned and one random scenario.
Clear Spring placed in the Triplicity competition, in which students had to create a three-part, weight-bearing structure from balsa wood, paper and glue to support up to 300 pounds.
Five scholarships were awarded at Saturday's event to graduating seniors who have participated in the creative problem-solving competition. Smithsburg High School senior Ryan Williams received a $750 scholarship toward his tuition at Towson University, Keller said.
To qualify for the scholarship, Williams submitted a resume relating how participating in the competition had helped his school achievement. He wrote that his problem-solving experience had led him to propose a way for his school band to improve its field performance, Keller said.
Members of the Williamsport team are: Taylor Angle, Shannon Draper, Hannah Garling, Molly Haas, Jeffrey Savage, Jeremy Savage and Codi Trumpower. Managers are Dan Henderson and Barbara Savage.
Members of the Clear Spring team are: MacKenzie Blair, Aysa Brown, Kyle Byrne, Laura Canfield, Ben Courter, Christina Mehaffie and Adam Reid. Managers are Stephanie Angles and Patty Blair.
Members of the Frederick High School team are: Alex Brown, Keith Buzby, Rohan Mahadevan, Josh Neeriemer, Sarah Perich and Amy Wolfsheimer. The manager is Carole Pecora.
Members of the Windsor Knolls team are: C.J. Carey, Laura Carrier, David Cholewczynski, Meaghan Holahan, Scott Maucione, Joselle McCracken and William Mohadjer Beromi. Managers are Val Cholewczynski and Kelli Carey.