Members of the 2020 Blytheville High School Odyssey of the Mind team pictured with their red ribbons at the OM’s Division III “Balsa Limbo” in the Northeast Regional are (from left) Wills Gullic, Katelyn Pruett, Diamond Henry, Jacob Pruett and (not pictured) Grant Langston. The team was coached by David and Amy Louise Gullic and Susannah King.
By DAVID COOKE
Blytheville Schools PR Dir.
Blytheville School District students and their coaches from the Odyssey of the Mind program are advancing to the April 4 state level after a very successful showing in the Feb. 29 Northeast Regional at Pocahontas.
The teams from Blytheville High School, Blytheville Elementary School and Blytheville Middle School performed well, according to OM director Ludivine Miles. She stated that the students conducted themselves with grace, integrity and confidence. “These students are very bright, able to think quickly on their feet and are wonderful representatives of our district,” said Miles.
The OM team from Blytheville High School competed in Division III “Balsa Limbo”. It is coached by David and Amy Louise Gullic and Susannah King, and its members are Katelyn Pruett, Wills Gullic, Grant Langston, Jacob Pruett and Diamond Henry.
The OM team from Blytheville Middle School, coached by Curtis Walker, Jr., consists of Johnny Moore, Brody Lynn, Ryley Walker, Gatsby Langston-Brown, Hayden Cornwell, Shamari Cooper and Ka’Mia Cowley.
The OM team from Blytheville Elementary School coached by Curtis Walker is made up of Marley Rand, Selena Salazar, Paicyn Pankey, Evan Blair, Joshua Holton, Ciera Mays and McKinley Walker.
The judges in the Northeast Regional competition from Blytheville included Ashley Whitley, Charles Hobbs, Abby Rogers, Rae Galbraith, Paige Hawks and Crystal Vincent. Miles stressed the importance of the judges, saying that without these volunteers the students would not be able to compete. The OM program needs all the volunteers it can get. One of the most important needs is volunteer coaches, and many of the students are not able to compete because of the lack of adults to coach them.
Miles, Odyssey of the Mind members, volunteers and coaches will focus all their attention on the April 4 state event at North Little Rock, and the teams that qualify will advance to the World Finals scheduled for May 27-30 at Iowa State University in Ames.