
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 competition consisting of four races, a student earns 4 points for winning a race, 2 points for finishing second, and 1 point for finishing third. There are no ties. What is the smallest number of points that a student must earn in the four races to be guaranteed of earning more points than any other student?
A) 12
B) 13
C) 14
D) 15
E) 16

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