Nineteen area students returned home with two world championships and several other top finishes after competing against some of the world's best problem solvers at the Future Problem Solving International Competition held June 10-14 at Indiana University.

The students qualified for the international event after winning at the Iowa Future Problem Solving State Bowl. Competitors from 33 states and nine countries — Australia, Canada, China, France, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Turkey — participated in this year's competition.

The competition centered on the topic of forestry. Teams were presented with a futuristic scenario set in Slovenia, where forest restoration efforts using bioengineered, fast-growing trees had produced unintended consequences. During a two-hour written competition, students analyzed the scenario, identified what they believed was the most significant problem, developed 16 possible solutions, evaluated each using established criteria and created a detailed action plan for their preferred solution.

Among the top finishers was the junior division (grades 4-6) team of Jeremiah Hay, Josiah Hay, Zachariah Hay and Mateo Miller, which claimed the world championship by placing first among 57 teams.

The senior division (grades 10-12) team of Noelle Schnoebelen, Katelynn Newton and Molly Ramsey earned second place internationally.

The middle division (grades 7-9) team of Patrick Overy, Asher Sutton, Lydia Brown and Ceci Nuxoll received an honorable mention among 71 teams.

Following the written competition, teams advanced to the Presentation of Action Plan event, in which students creatively presented their proposed solutions through acting and props. Two local senior division teams qualified for the finals and both finished among the top 10. Those teams included Hanna Fritz, Elizabeth Snyder, Miriam McDonald and Lily Newton, as well as Noelle Schnoebelen, Katelynn Newton and Molly Ramsey.

Students also competed in optional individual events.

Josiah Hay, Iowa's junior division creative writing champion, placed fifth internationally after writing a short story based on the forestry topic during a two-hour competition against 30 other writers.

Zachariah Hay, Iowa's junior division storytelling champion, earned another world championship in the storytelling competition. Participants create and rehearse a five-minute story before performing it before judges and an audience.

The students represent several communities in eastern Iowa. All are homeschooled except Mateo Miller, who attends Pathway Christian School. The team is coached by Paula Lawson-Moore.