12 students will represent Ohio at competition

BELOIT -- Twelve students from the West Branch Local School District will represent Ohio at the International Conference of the Future Problem Solving Program Wednesday through June 8 at the University of Connecticut.
This is the fourth year West Branch students have advanced to international competition as a result of performances at state competition.
The program showcases academic talent and creativity by giving the students assigned topics to research and then apply their knowledge to a possible future scene after a six-step problem-solving process.
Students competing are individual qualifiers Lee Sharpnack, Jeff Morckel, and Mary Estock; team members Sharpnack, Joe Bush, Matt Campbell, and Lindsey Knoedler; and team members Tom Behner, David Frankhouser, Jacob Kleinke, and Jeff Mowrer.
Angela Meier and Jacob Lippiatt will compete on teams whose members are from different affiliate states or countries.
Susan Hartzell coaches the students, who are members of the West Branch Excel program.
Campbell said the seniors in the program have been together since the fifth grade.
"We meet for about 40 minutes each week," Campbell said. "We're gathering information now because there are always three or four ways the judges can go with it. We all do as many problems and solutions as we can."
Campbell said five students are seniors who must leave the competition as soon as it ends to fly home to graduate June 8.