Eight teams of students from West Mercer Elementary and Islander Middle School competed in the Seattle Area Regional Destination ImagiNation Tournament on March 3 in Issaquah.
Each team had worked together since last fall in preparation for this competition, with the guidance of two West Mercer teachers, Mr. Headlee and Ms. Isaacs.
At the tournament, teams competed in multiple varied challenges utilizing the core principles of the program, which are creativity, teamwork and problem-solving.
Five teams placed in the tournament, and the two first-place teams will continue on to compete in the state tournament and represent Mercer Island on March 31 in Wenatchee.
The teams included:
• First place: Elementary Technical Team, Assembly Required – Leif Gullstad, Albert Lam, Michael Deal, Igal Tamarkin, Bridger Bourke, Kevin Li.
• First place: Elementary Structure Team, Hold It! – Harley Hunkapillar, Damien Snyder, Justin Skene, Ellie Park, Adam Zaborski, Lilly Zaborski.
• Second place: Elementary Structure Team, Hold It! – Neal Ma, Owen Bernstein, Andrew Motz, Riley Milburn, Nico Galvin, Emerson Fruehling, Alex Patel.
• Second place: Middle School Structure Team, Hold It! – Ben Stoops, Grace Hunter, Aidan Wang, Josh Park, Joe Park, Bryan Zhao, Cole Nielsen.
• Third place: Middle School Theatrical Team, Coming Attractions – Akriti Purohit, Zoe Sheill, William Goodwin, Nate Sigmon, Bryan Zhao, Vinny Ricci, Verli Chen.
