Monhagen to join MHS at Odyssey world finals

Mar 21 2026

Monhagen Middle School learned over the break that its Odyssey of the Mind team received - and then accepted - an invitation to compete in the World finals on May 27-30 at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

Monhagen finished fourth in the NYS championships last month. One of the top three finishers won the creativity award, which came with a World finals invitation. Since Monhagen placed first in the spontaneous portion of the state event, along with the fourth-place finish, the team received an invitation, Principal Dominick Radogna said.

Congratulations to Monhagen, which is coached by Haley Hershenson and Natalie Fermanian, and team members Gabriel Chen, Sophia Castrejon, Rylan Decker, Aven Fana, Diljot Kang, London Lewis, Ayden Reyes.

They will join the Middletown High School Odyssey of the Mind team, which captured the New York State championship - and received a World finals berth - in the high school division last month. The MHS team is coached by Stephanie Sears, with team members Norah Cardinal, Jailynn Harmon, Addison Burger, Kim Peralta Becker, Danelli Polanco Rojas, Emma Vermillion and Ella Wardell.

"We could not be more excited about these results," Superintendent Mrs. Amy Creeden said. "This level of success across multiple teams reflects the hard work of our young people, the commitment of our coaches, and the strong support of our school community. Odyssey of the Mind continues to be a shining example of what our students can accomplish when they are encouraged to think creatively and work collaboratively."

We also want to acknowledge and again congratulate the fifth-place Maple Hill team: (Coaches Zachary Davis and Brianna Canto): Amir Neil, Xavier Chagoya, Abigail Toribio, Paige Chappell, Oliver Nauta, Dylan Cepeda and Victoria Contreras Guizarnotegui.