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The New Lothrop High School team members are Shauna Henige, Ryan Dolan, Courtney Rivette, Chet Birchmeier, Casey Jacobs, Markus Lieberknecht and Ted Ashley. The students are in the 10th through 12th grade. Denny and Dianne Henige coach the team

The Division 3 team from New Lothrop High School solved the long-term problem "Tag 'Em," winning the Michigan State Championship. For the third consecutive year the team was also awarded the prestigious Ranatra Fusca award, which is given for exceptional creativity in the solution of the problem. The team was required to design, build, and run small vehicles that make trips and get "tagged" within a tagging zone for score. The team's performance included comic book style villains and heroes in a medieval setting ruled by a "Puppet King."

Three other teams from New Lothrop and two from Chesaning competed at the state level but will not continue on to world competition.

New Lothrop Superintendent John Strycker saluted the team during Monday's regular board of education meeting.

"As I have watched the activities of this group, I see a great correlation between the skills we would like all our students to have and the skills required in the Odyssey of The Mind competition. Skills like the ability to think, reason, work together for a common goal and basic troubleshooting are the practical skills that will help our student achieve in the real world. I am very proud of our Odyssey of The Mind Team," he said.

In 2006, New Lothrop High School won the Odyssey of the Mind World Championship. In the competition, which was held at Iowa State University, New Lothrop High School defeated 41 teams from across the United States and around the world to claim the 2006 Odyssey crown.

"Our team members are incredibly excited to have the opportunity to defend their title right here in their home State of Michigan. The World Finals have not been held in Michigan since 1987 when Central Michigan University hosted the Finals. We are all really looking forward to this event. Having the World Finals right in our own backyard will give our supporters and other local students the opportunity to come and see of the most creative and talented students in the world as they present their problem solutions," said Dianne Henige.

Over 800 teams will come to Michigan State University from throughout the U.S. and about 20 other countries to compete in the World Finals. Of those teams, only 15 will claim the title of World Champion of Creative Problem-Solving.

The World Finals will kick off with Opening Ceremonies on Wednesday, May 23rd in the Breslin Center. The competition will take place on Thursday May 24th through Saturday, May 26th at various sites on the MSU campus in East Lansing. The 2007 Odyssey of the Mind Champions will be crowned on Saturday evening in the Closing Ceremonies in the Breslin Center.

Admission to the competition is free and open to the public. Admission to the Opening Ceremonies and Closing Ceremonies is also fee, but a ticket is required for admission. A limited supply of tickets for the ceremonies will be available at the Odyssey of the Mind Information Booth, which will be located on the MSU campus.

This will be the first time that MSU has hosted the World Finals and thousands of students from across the country and around the world will descend on East Lansing for the problem solving competition. This will also be the first time the World Finals has been hosted by a Big Ten School. Other past World Finals locations have included Iowa State University, the University of Tennessee, the University of Colorado, and the University of Maryland.

To view the official state finals scores go to www.miodyssey.com. For more information about Odyssey of the Mind, go to www.odysseyofthemind.com.