Written by Alyssa Bohman 

On March 28th, the Odyssey of the Mind State Competition was held at Boyle County Middle School. This state-level tournament served as the final qualifier for Kentucky teams, with top-performing teams advancing to the 2026 Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Iowa State University from May 27–30.

Both teams from Boyle County Middle School and Boyle County High School qualified for the World Finals.

At the state competition, results were as follows: The Epic Quest Division II placed second, The Epic Quest Division III placed first, Life’s a Ball! Division III placed second, and Taller Tales of John Jivery Division II placed second.

Both Boyle County Middle School teams earned second place. At the high school level, one team placed first while the other finished second.

The state tournament also served as Senior Recognition Day, where all seniors were honored with a graduation cord and a certificate.

Senior Shelby Frondal-Coffman was among those recognized and received a $500 scholarship along with the prestigious “Ranatra Fusca” award. She earned both honors for her outstanding creativity in designing her team’s monster and is the first student from Boyle County to ever receive the Ranatra Fusca award.

Written by: Alyssa Bohman

Students from across the region gathered at Boyle County Middle School on Saturday, March 7th, to compete in the East Central Regional Odyssey of the Mind Tournament. The event highlighted the creativity, teamwork, and technical skills of local elementary, middle, and high school teams. 

Odyssey of the Mind is an international program where students work together to solve complex problems. These range from building mechanical devices and weight-bearing structures to writing and performing original plays. A key rule of the competition is that students must develop their solutions entirely on their own without help from parents or teachers. 

All the Teams were judged in three main areas which are Long-Term Problems, Style, and Spontaneous. Several local teams earned high marks for their performances including Boyle County High School and Boyle County Middle School. In the Epic Quest Division II Boyle County Middle School won first place. In the Epic Quest Division III Boyle County High School won first place. In Life's a Ball! Division III Boyle County Highschool got second place. 

The successful teams from this weekend will advance to the Kentucky State Tournament, which will also be held at Boyle County Middle School on March 28th. Winners from the state level will have the chance to represent Kentucky at the World Finals at Iowa State University in May. 

Last Saturday, Odyssey of the Mind competed against various teams at Boyle County Middle School. 

There are many competition options to choose from. Here are the results of last weekend competition: 

Problem 1 Division III - Boyle County High School - 1st

Problem 3 Division II - Boyle County Middle School - 1st

Problem 3 Division III - Boyle County High School - 1st

Problem 5 Division II - Boyle County Middle School - 3rd 

Although some are not continuing onto worlds, we are so proud of their accomplishments! Junior Shelby Frondal says, “Odyssey of the Mind is chaotic, weird, and all over the place; I wouldn't have it any other way.”

Also, a big congratulations to Arielle Plott for gaining a scholarship this past weekend! Odyssey of the Mind will compete at worlds in late May, we are so excited to see what they can do!