Coleman High School rocketry team prepares for 3rd national competition, reveals hidden history
COLEMAN, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) — On May 18, the 2024 Coleman High School rocketry team will make its third trip to The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) in Washington, D.C., hoping to bring home the top prize for the Big Country. Teacher and program founder Gary Strickland spoke on his hopes for the students and the peculiar history he’s made with teams past.
“The first time we went (in 2015) was the first year of our program. I, as a sponsor, and the students, we were all rookies; we didn’t know what we were doing. Two years ago, our team placed fifth… And then this year. We’ll see. It never hurts to have a little bit of luck,” Strickland told KTAB/KRBC.
2022: Coleman High School rocketry team qualifies for national competition
To qualify for the national competition, the team competed against 921 other high school teams from around the country. Coleman rose to the top 100 in the nation once again. In Washington, they will be required to launch their hand-crafted rocket to a height of either 800 or 850 feet, to be determined on the day of the competition. Their craft will carry a chicken egg payload that must not be damaged in the flight. The student-led team will make all gameday decisions, alterations, and operations.
“I’m more of a project manager rather than a direct instruction kind of person for this course,” Strickland shared.
The team of four is comprised of students Hanna Smith, Deane Young, and Brazos Erwin and is captained by Coleman Junior, Cole Fikes.
“Oh, we’re going big or going home,” Fikes said.
Through many dedicated class hours of experimentation, construction, and trial and error, Fikes said he feels confident in his team’s ability to rise to the occasion in Washington, D.C., no matter how many pitfalls may beset them.
“If I add the wrong weight, you could go too high… If you don’t tie the knot right… If you don’t put the right epoxy, it’ll come apart… And if you cut one wrong hole, you gotta start over,” explained Fikes.
Coleman Rocketry (2015) Coleman Rocketry (2019) Coleman Rocketry (2021) Coleman Rocketry (2023)
The previous Coleman team to compete in TARC placed fifth out of the 100 best teams in the nation. Strickland stated that the difference between first and fifth on that day was less than the width of three paperclips. He also voiced his overwhelming pride in that team and this year’s Coleman competitors.
“They’ll make some decisions, adjust the rocket, and fly it, and then the performance speaks for itself,” said Strickland.
However, a steady rise to victory is not the only history the team has to be proud of. Strickland shared an interesting bit of local history that he undertook with the school’s 2019 rocketry team.
“So a lot of folks have seen the movie October Sky,” Strickland went on to say.
October Sky is a 1998 docufilm based on the true story of four high school students in 1954 West Virginia who were inspired to build rockets upon hearing of the Sputnik landing. One of the model rockets used in the filming of the picture found a home at Coleman High School, where it remains today. This is due to Strickland’s connection to one of the original members of the actual team.
“Quentin Wilson was good friends with my mentor in rocketry,” said Strickland.
The Coleman team of 2019 was tasked with restoring the movie rocket for flight and helping Wilson’s family honor his dying wish to have his ashes spread via rocket.
“In the last scene of the movie, they launch a rocket that was dedicated to Miss Riley, one of their teachers who inspired them… What happened was Quentin’s widow contacted my friend. She had this rocket that was his, and it was in bad shape. She wanted him to get it fly-worthy so they could deploy his ashes. He said well, you know this story was about high school kids at the beginning, and he said I know some people,” Strickland recalled.
In December 2019, the Coleman team presented and launched the rocket with Wilson’s family in attendance.
“That was a neat group of kids and a real privilege to get to do that,” said Strickland.
Former teams like this one left a legacy to remember, and the current team is hoping to make some history of their own, as Fikes’ enthusiasm shows.
“Texas is gonna go big. The small town of Coleman will be known. I’m gonna paint it on the side of the rocket for us. Coleman will be known for rocketry.”
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