Pittsford Odyssey of the Mind Teams Shine at World Finals!

Two Pittsford elementary teams represented New York at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University in May—earning top placements among global competitors!

The Park Road Elementary team placed 8th out of 52 teams in “The OM-Mazing Race” vehicle problem category. Team members Aarav Bharadwaj, Vlera Demiri, Oliver Kulshrestha, Srutahm Maity, Aarin Malik, John Nicosia, and Maryanne Samuelson-Via engineered an all-terrain vehicle to transport a rider through a race to three destinations. During the race the rider used teamwork, a lifting mechanism and a lava shield to overcome obstacles including a pirate, muddy swamp and volcanic fireballs.

The Mendon Center Elementary team placed 14th out of 45 teams in the “Mech-Animal Sidekick” technical problem. Spriha Dhakal, Jason Duan, Ayaan Garg, Christian Haldeman, Saira Iyer, Jamie Kay, and Riya Talamanchi created a cotton-candy-themed panda called Canda-Panda by using simple machines. A circus trainer and Canda-Panda perform tricks to cheer up three characters facing challenges.

This year marked Pittsford’s 37th year participating in Odyssey of the Mind—with 37 teams competing this year. Sixteen advanced to the state tournament in Syracuse, and two earned the honor of competing at World Finals alongside teams from countries such as Poland, South Korea, Canada, and Japan.

Odyssey of the Mind is a creative problem-solving competition where students work together to develop innovative solutions, perform skits, and tackle spontaneous challenges.

Congratulations to all our Pittsford Odyssey of the Mind teams for their hard work and representing Pittsford at the regional, state and world tournaments!