Delaware Valley Middle School wins Odyssey of the Mind World Championships
Seven teams from the district made it to Worlds
| 28 May 2025 | 11:31
The winning DVMS technical team, from left: Joellen Nielsen, Patty Chen, Keston Monahan, Christopher Miller, Michael Simmons, Adelyn Gamer and Ariel Weyant. (
)
Delaware Valley students were among the Pennsylvania contingent at the Odyssey of the Minds opening ceremony at Michigan State University May 21. (
)
The Delaware Valley Middle School technical team prepares to perform at Worlds. From left: Patty Chen, Keston Monahan, Ariel Weyant, Christopher Miller, Michael Simmons, Joellen Nielsen and Adelyn Gamer. (
)
The DVHS structure team, which took fourth place in its division, holding 990 pounds on its 15-gram balsa wood structure. Team members: Connor Giblin, Grant Nielsen, Angie Barcia, Beau Tannenbaum, Brooke Nielsen, Clare Barcia, Patrick Fleming; Coach: Terry Balton (
)
The Delaware Valley Middle School technical team took first place at the Odyssey of the Minds World Championship in Michigan May 21 to May 24, besting 46 teams from as far as China, Korea, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Mexico.
The winning team competed in the Mech-Animal Sidekick problem, tasked with creating a robotic pet that featured in a skit created and designed entirely by the kids. This was the second consecutive first-place win for Coach Lauren Lockwood, Delaware Valley speech therapist, and four members of the team: Christopher Miller, Patty Chen, Ariel Weyant and Michael Simmons.
“I am incredibly proud of my team and could not be more thrilled to have all of their hard work and dedication culminate in being celebrated on the World stage!,” said Lockwood.
An impressive seven Delaware Valley School District teams advanced to Worlds this year, where they competed among 700 teams from 11 countries and 29 states. The Delaware Valley High School structure team, led by coach Terry Balton, took fourth place in its division, holding 990 pounds on their 15-gram structure made out of balsa wood.
Also attending Worlds were three teams from Pocono Mountain School District, one with a district record-high second place finish; two teams from Goshen Central School District; Middletown High School; Pine Bush High School; and six teams from Warwick Valley School District. Goshen and Warwick also won a world championship title.
Odyssey of the Mind is an intellectual contest of creativity, resourcefulness, mental acuity and expression. The focus of the competition is on creative problem solving using a team approach. It is based on the concept that “mind games” can be played with as much enthusiasm and competitive spirit as athletic games.