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Quite an odyssey...
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Richmond Hill High School’s three Odyssey of the Mind teams were victorious at Saturday’s state tournament and earned the right to represent the State of Georgia at the world finals held in May at Michigan State University.

Two of the teams finished in first place and the third team earned a second place finish.

Team "Tag ‘Em," consisting of senior members Alex Squires, Ginny Freeman, Dicy Saylor, Lesley Chesnut, Shannon Wichers, Adam Uhlig and junior member Matt Baker, earned first place in their division.

This team also earned a special "Omer" award from the judges for exhibiting the true spirit of dedication to Odyssey of the Mind because they chose to stay for the full length of the tournament and missed their prom as a result. They received a standing ovation at the awards ceremony. The female team members had on their prom dresses at the ceremony.

The parent coach of "Tag ‘Em," Debbie Squires, earned a spot in the Georgia Odyssey of the Mind Coaches Hall of Fame for her dedication to the organization.

Team "I’m Only Thinking of You" is made up of sophomore members Alex Reid, Chiara Norce, Kendra Schneider and Lauren Trivitayakhun, and junior Megan Nance. This team also earned first place in their division. Team member Laura Black could not be there because her father was being deployed overseas. The parent coaches for "I’m Only Thinking of You" are Susan Norce and Vinette Trivitayakhun.

Team "The Large and Small of It" earned second place. Team members are sophomores Evan Thompson, Kevin Lewis, Brian Farr, Matt Cordle, Taurean Butler and Tanzie Nelson, and senior member Victoria Townley. They placed second to last year’s defending world champions from Harrison High School by just 28 points.

The team’s parent coach is Brad Thompson.

Richmond Hill High School is the only school in the state to have three teams advance to the world finals.

"This is an amazing accomplishment for these students and an indication of the caliber and quality of students that Richmond Hill High School can produce," said program coordinator Steven Wilkie.

The world finals will be held May 23-26.

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