CFISD teams qualify for DI Global Finals

April 8, 2009 — Four CFISD teams placed either first or second at the Destination ImagiNation (DI) State Tournament last weekend at Cypress Woods High School and Spillane Middle School, qualifying for the DI Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn., May 20-23.

Twelve CFISD teams participating in the statewide competition placed in the top six in their respective divisions.

Global-bound Elementary School Division Winners:

• Bang Elementary School

  • The DI Dynamites placed first in Challenge A, Operation Cooperation. Team members are James Gutierrez, Ali Zaidi, Kevin Turner, Kaitlyn Zera, Mohammad Zaidi and Mustafa Khan. The school sponsor is Kristine Ashmead and the team manager is Kathryn Gutierrez.

• Hamilton Elementary School

  • The Billion Bolts of Brilliance placed first in Challenge B, Instinct Messaging. Team members are Ryan Martin, Ryan Lancaster, Ben Miller, Pooja Shankar, Esha Dewan, Hannah Phillips and Caleb Longan. The school sponsors are Betty Collette and Mary Bardwell and the team manager is John Martin.

• Sampson Elementary School

• The Superstars placed second in Challenge D, Private DI. Team members are Will Hudson, Alex Duensing, Kate Laymon, Haley Brusen, Yash Chulki, Christian Sullivan and Sharon Zhou. The school sponsor is Carolyn Young and the team manager is Angela Duensing.
  

Other Elementary School Winners:

• Ault Elementary School

  • The DI-VJs placed fifth in Challenge C, ViDIo Lit Hits. Team members are Garrett Duncan, Grace Duncan, Channing Drake, Luke Cusak, Craig Drozdowski and Kaylie Hidalgo. The school sponsor is Kimberly Drake and the team managers are Jana Duncan and Kimberly Drake.

  • The DInventors placed fifth in Challenge E, A New Angle. Team members are Bailey Dougherty, Wesley Foster, Trevor Koch, Alex LaPlant, Gabi Sarmiento, Emily Vela and Haiden Maples. The school sponsor is Kimberly Drake and the team manager is Heather Maples.
    

• Gleason Elementary School

  • The Masterminds placed fifth in Challenge A, Operation Cooperation. Team members are Spencer Ruzicka, A.J. Sinclair, Mai Daigle, Kaiai Daniel, Shane Erwin and Ryan Erwin. The school sponsor is Patti Arechiga and the team manager is Melissa Ruzicka.
    

• Hamilton Elementary School

  • The DI Darts placed sixth in Challenge E, A New Angle. Team members are Clay Allen, Kyle Allen, Cameron McConway, Brennan Passon, Eliza Piccirillo, Ryan Wall and Colby Williamson. The school sponsors are Betty Collette and Mary Bardwell and the team manager is Angi Williamson.
    

Global-Bound Middle School Division Winners:

• Hamilton Middle School

  • Team Squirrel placed first in Challenge A, Operation Cooperation. Team members are Erin Curby, Patrick Martin, Mitch Schockley, Ross Tuzin and Kirsten Williamson. The school sponsor is Amanda Herber and the team manager is Angi Williamson.
    

Other Middle School Winners:

• Goodson Middle School

  • S.O.S. (Save Our Species) placed fifth in Challenge B, Instinct Messaging. Team members are Aranka Barbe, Sofie Patzak, Darcy Hinton, Grace Seidl, Paige Gunderson and Josh Bullock. The school sponsors are Kelly Wallis, Camille Bunker and Nancy Daues and the team managers are Shulamith Barbe and Brigitte Rothenbucher.

High School Division Winners:

• Cypress Woods High School

  • Cy Woods Number One placed third in Challenge D, Private DI, and placed third in DI eXtreme. Team members are Kelsey Sallade, Bryan Gray, Phillip Wozny and Matthew Wheeler. The school sponsor is Margaret Wallace and the team manager is Becky Sallade.
    

• Jersey Village High School

  • The Duck Tape Ninjas placed sixth in Challenge C, ViDIo Lit Hits. Team members are Laeten Gaspard, Ally Pietrowski, Krislyn Koehn, Trey Stoker and Lauren Coats. The school sponsor is Christina Reif and the team manager is Joan Coats.