Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

LP Future Problem Solvers find success at state competition



Kip Kovar
Sports Editor

LESTER PRAIRIE, MN – It may have been in a different format than anyone expected, but that didn’t stop the Lester Prairie Future Problem Solvers. Taking on the competition virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, five Lester Prairie students will be representing Minnesota at the International Conference in July.

“The Future Problem Solver state meet was supposed to take place March 28 at Apollo High School in Saint Cloud,” FPS coach Katie Carmine said. “Because of the global pandemic going on, it was changed to a virtual meet (in April). Overall, I am very proud of the way my Future Problem Solvers handled this competition. We had students and teams score their personal best and considering they competed in a way that wasn’t practiced, I am excited for what these problem solvers do in the future.”

Kiana Loveland, Averi Tritabaugh, Michael Ruwersma, Andy Ruwersma, and Daniel Jackson will all be representing Lester Prairie at the first-ever virtual International Conference in June after finishing at or near the top at the state level.

In scenario performance, the Bulldogs had two first-place finishes and one second-place finish. Kiana Loveland took first place in the senior division, while Averi Tritabaugh took first place in the junior division. Jordan Rehmann also took second place in the junior division.

In the Global Issues Problem Solving (GIPS) team competition, Daniel Jackson, Maya Eckstein, Gael Lopez, and Mallorie Torry took fourth place in the junior division. Austin Walstrom, Carl Overbye, Sarai Montano, and Shelby Litzau took fifth in the middle division.

Competing as individuals, Andy Ruwersma took third place in the middle division, while Michael Ruwersma took second place in the senior division.

All members of the FPS have been hard at work since the beginning of the school year. Starting in October, the group puts in the work to get ready for competition later in the school year.

“In the FPS program, we begin in October to practice the six-step process for our regional meet in February,” Carmine said. “We have a practice topic (Sleep Patterns), a regional topic (Gamification), and the state topic (Living in Poverty). During this time frame, we research the topic and then practice the six-step process: read a future scene, determine possible challenges, find an underlying problem, determine possible solutions, and then work their way down to one solution, which they create an action plan for. This entire process in competition needs to be done in two hours and fifteen minutes.”

Despite putting in the work all school year long, things changed for the FPS of Lester Prairie. While competing virtually, the students worked from home which presented some challenges along the way.

“Competing virtually was different because we had to communicate differently,” junior Zach Jackson said. “It was more difficult to stay focused at your house with many other distractions.”

“(It was) different because we weren’t with each other,” sixth-grader Sybil Tervo said. “It was a little difficult to understand each other.”

One of the biggest challenges for the meet was internet connectivity.

“As many people know, we are very reliant on wi-fi these days,” Carmine said. “Not having consistent and reliable internet made this competition a challenge. The competitors were not allowed extra time, which was a challenge for our younger competitors who are slower typers.”

While competing virtually certainly had some negatives, members of the group were also able to find some positives along the way.

“Typing the booklet was easier because they all could work on a page at the same time,” Jackson said.

FPS State Results

TEAM RESULTS

4th Place Junior Divison:

Daniel Jackson

Maya Eckstein

Gael Lopez

Mallorie Torry

5th Place Middle Division:

Austin Walstrom

Carl Overbye

Sarai Montano

Shelby Litzau

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

3rd Place Middle Division:

Andy Ruwersma

2nd Place Senior Division:

Michael Ruwersma

SCENARIO PERFORMANCE

2nd Place Junior Divison:

Jordan Rehmann

1st Place Junior Division:

Averi Tritabaugh

1st Place Senior Division:

Kiana Loveland

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