
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
In a mathematics club competition, four students compete in a series of three races. A student earns $6$ points for winning a race, $4$ points for finishing second, and $2$ points for finishing third. There are no ties in any race. What is the smallest number of points that a student must earn in these three races to be guaranteed of earning more points than any other student?
A) 14
B) 16
C) 18
D) 20

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
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