For the City Times

STEVENS POINT — Pacelli Catholic High School’s Destination Imagination (DI) team, Omega Improv, recently competed at the Destination Imagination Global Finals placing second overall in the improvisation category out of a total 80 teams.

Finals were held May 23-26 in Knoxville, TN as the town welcomed more than 1,400 student teams from 38 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and 19 countries—including Australia, China, Indonesia and Qatar. The culmination of a year-long effort, more than 17,000 participants and visitors traveled to the University of Tennessee as teams showcased their unique solutions to challenges in six categories, including Engineering, Scientific, Fine Arts, Technical, Improvisational and Service Learning.

Pacelli’s Omega Improv team members Tim Shulfer, Makayla Moss, Rebecca Smart, & Noah LaMaide pose for a photo. (Contributed)

“We are extremely proud of Omega Improv for earning second place out of a field of 80 high school teams from across the nation and world,” said Gregg Hansel, director of education for Pacelli Catholic Schools. “The students and the coaches worked hard all year to develop the students’ teamwork and critical thinking skills. The students certainly performed excellently when the light shone brightest at finals, just like they did at regional and state competitions, where they took first place at both events.”

Omega Improv team members included Noah LaMaide and Tim Shulfer, both of the class of 2018, as well as Rebecca Smart and Makayla Moss. The team was coached by Debbie Weishan, Anne Rogalski, Mitch Altmann, and Karissa Mansavage.

Omega Improv team members Makayla Moss (left) and Rebecca Smart (right) accept their second place awards at Global Finals on behalf of their team. Fellow team members Noah LaMaide and Tim Shulfer had already returned to Stevens Point for Pacelli’s graduation ceremony. (Contributed Photo)

But Omega Improv wasn’t the only Stevens Point team to compete as SPASH’s The Glitter Gang placed 21^st in the fine arts competition.

“These students have worked so hard and accomplished so much this year in our annual competition,” said Michele Tuck-Ponder, Interim CEO for Destination Imagination. “When you get more than 8,000 of the brightest young minds in the world putting their talents on display, it really is awe-inspiring. Every year, we get to see the future leaders in STEAM, and I’m always amazed with what they produce.”

For the full results of Destination Imagination’s Global Finals 2018, visit http://www.globalfinals.org/results.