Seniors Marina Clubb and Heena Gupta searched for two and a half days for the 2025 Winter Blast medallion, finally finding it wrapped in brown paper and tin foil along the side walk in the horseshoe near the visitor and accessible parking spaces.
A few key parts of the clues got the hunters to the correct spot. “Marina figured out the color base changes clue and the Wildcats rightly part helped us,” said Heena.
When the medallion was originally hidden, it was in about a foot of snow. Unseasonably warm temperatures this week meant that it was completely exposed by after school on Thursday, though in the morning it was still concealed by a thin layer of snow.
The pair are the winners of a $50 catered lunch and $100 in gift cards. When asked what they will do with the winnings, Heena said “probably go to the mall.”
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who participated in this year’s hunt! Clue explanations follow.
Clue #1 invokes the beginning of the Winter Blast spirit week here and honors our state champion boys’ soccer team. “A measure” might have gotten hunters to think about music performed in the theatre or the standardized size of the parking spaces nearby. The medallion was hidden near by the last accessible space and the first visitor space. “Look out” is a reminder to be careful while looking for the medallion and when driving in the horseshoe entrance.
Clue #2: There are seven lines in this clue for the seven accessible spots. “Nouveau” means “new” in French which may have lead hunters to the main floor where French classes are held. Hercule Poirot is a famous detective and certainly would have been interested in our medallion hunt. The medallion was two steps to the east of the yellow line on the map.
Clue #3: The flag pole is near the hiding spot outside. The medallion was wrapped in brown paper resembling toasted bread. This clue was also a reminder to students to not leave class to find the medallion. The beep could refer to car horns or the security alarm that sounds when the side doors are opened.
Clue #4: 2025 is Eagan High School’s 35 year anniversary. The steps refer to the 35 steps it takes from the oak tree to the spot the medallion was found as well as the steps to the theatre and the side stairwells that surround the south entrance. Looking at the school building, the speech and debate hall of fame pictures are slightly to the right on the high school side. “Bundle up” should have turned students to the outside spaces though the weather in the past two days has been quite warm.
Clue #5: There are ten signs notifying drivers of the spaces outside. The yellow bases only exist on seven of them. Look low told hunters that it was on the ground and not hidden in a tree or up high. If a person walked he map line, they would have been able to see the medallion from it. Hurry was a reference to the waning number of clues but also generally to students rushing to come in from the cold during drop off and pick up times. “Exiting vehicles in stages” might draw hunters to the south door because both the high school and middle school guardians use that entrance as well as both high school and middle school buses – thus why the clue used a more encompassing term.