Four Northwest DI teams advance to Globals

After scoring in the top six of their challenge group at the Lone Star Finals, four Northwest ISD Destination Imagination (DI) teams will advance to the elite Global Finals competition. Globals— the highest achievement possible for DI teams from across the country — provides students and team leaders the opportunity to participate in the world’s largest celebration of creativity and problem solving in Kansas City May 20 through 23.

The Ultimate Skeleton Dragons — represented by five high school students — began as a DI team when the team members were just beginning their educational journeys at Seven Hills Elementary School. Even though the students now attend different high schools, they understood the value in staying together as a team. In its current form, the Ultimate Skeleton Dragons are comprised of both Byron Nelson Bobcats and Northwest Texans. While the strength of this team lies in the Improv challenge, they set their sights on the Magellan Award, a title awarded to students who participate in each of the six different challenges over the course of their entire DI careers. This year, four of the team members accomplished that goal, including Ayden Lalani, William Thornell, Jason Spruill, and Riley Tucciarone. This will be the fourth trip to Globals for the Ultimate Skeleton Dragons.

The Ultimate Skeleton Dragons

 

As the second senior DI team representing Northwest ISD at Globals, the Hexanauts — now students at Byron Nelson High School — have been competing together since their time at Lakeview Elementary School. Since their first competition, the team has been managed by Mrs. Laurie Baxter. Team member Regan Ellis, a senior at Byron Nelson High School, has been helping coach Lakeview’s third grade DI team this year, giving back to her elementary school as the winning Lakeview tradition continues. As coveted Magellan Award recipients, this will be the Hexanauts’ seventh trip to Globals.

The Hexanauts 

 

The second Byron Nelson High School team advancing to Globals is the Fire Breathing Rubber Dux. This team — comprised of sophomores and one junior — also started their DI journeys while in elementary school. The four original team members began their DI journeys in first grade at Beck Elementary School. This will be the Fire Breathing Rubber Dux second trip to Globals. All seven team members are on track to complete their goal of being named Magellan recipients by the end of the 2023-2024 DI season. 

The Fire Breathing Runner Dux 

 

The Wabbits — the only Northwest ISD elementary-aged team headed to Globals this year — began their journey in kindergarten at the non-competitive level as Rising Stars.  In first grade, the team won the DiVinci award for outstanding creativity. Currently, six third graders from Lakeview Elementary School fill the team's roster.

“We are excited to see and meet teams from other countries and states and get some new ideas for next year,” said Megan Morance, the Wabbits team manager.  “This year, our students learned about cranes, the counter valence that also must exist with a crane, conveyor belts and the friction that must exist to move the belt and keep it moving smoothly.  It’s been really fun to see them work together to solve problems and make their presentation even better after each competition.”

The Wabbits

 

Team/Campus	Challenge Name	State Results	Team Members	TeamManagers
The Wabbits Lakeview Elementary School	Piece by Piece	3rd	Jackson Andrews Leela Cherian Mary Kuhn Emmett Gentrup Catherine Robinson Cooper Morace	Megan Morace
Hexanauts Byron Nelson High School	Far-Fetched	5th	Reagan Ellis Gwen Baxter Ryder Fine Kurt Ippolito Ian Hill Andrew Golden	Laurie Baxter
Fire Breathing Rubber Dux Byron Nelson High School	Thrill Ride	1st	Aaron Reisman Nikunj Gupta Annebelle Hoffman Jonah Hoffman Haley Lentz William Koch Zoe Tsapos	Diane Tsapos Golda Hoffman
Ultimate Skeleton Dragons Northwest High School	High Stakes	6th	Ayden Lalani William Thornell Jason Spruill Riley Tucciarone Zya Lee	Tim McClure Tabitha Tucciarone

 

To learn more about Destination Imagination, visit www.idodi.org.