Team wins Daily Herald's 'Great Puzzle Challenge' contest in 90 minutes

The winners of the Daily Herald's debut jigsaw puzzle challenge took the name of their team - Piece By Piece - and used it as their strategy.

In partnership with Great Lakes Clinical Trials and Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights, "The Great Puzzle Challenge" featured 28 teams of four competing against each other for the chance to win cash prizes, including a $400 first-place prize awarded to team Piece By Piece, which completed its 500-piece puzzle in 90 minutes.

Piece By Piece included Theresa Byelick of Lisle, Julie Wojtowicz of LaGrange and Christina and Emerick Wiatrek of Aurora.

Byelick said her team's strategy was to divide sections of the puzzle to each team member, then join forces to complete the final piece of the puzzle - a round photo of a sunflower (sorry, puzzlemakers, no corners!) shot by Daily Herald photojournalist Rick West.

"It was a great event, full of intense competition, and we look forward to the next puzzle challenge," she added.

Many teams were composed of friends and family members. However, Puzzled?, the second-place team, included mother and daughter duo Rahe Berns and Debra Lippert of St. Charles, paired with a couple of single entries, Cynthia Singer of Schaumburg and Mary Anderson of Spring Grove, who met for the first time that evening.

In third place was team MAMS, which was to include Anita Kvitek of Round Lake Beach, but she had to bow out because she was still recovering from double cataract surgery. Her daughter, Karen Kvitek from Kalamazoo, Michigan, filled in.

Anita was full of spirit and came to cheer on her team, which also included daughters Michelle O'Connor of Algonquin and Sandy Pogue of Grayslake, and cousin and lifelong friend Mary Bodner of Crystal Lake.