Five Decatur elementary schools place within top 10 in Goblin race
Mar. 22—Banks-Caddell Elementary fifth grader Jocelyn Garcia said hitting the brakes and landing hard turns on time was something her team focused on during practice, and it paid off as they finished as the third best overall team in the Goblin Splash races on Thursday.
There were 11 schools from the Decatur school district that competed in the Goblin races at Calhoun Community College on Thursday, which were specifically for students in grades 4 through 6. All elementary schools in Decatur competed except for Benjamin Davis Elementary, which only goes to second grade.
Middle school and high school teams were scheduled to compete in the Greenpower Splash at Calhoun Community College beginning at 8 a.m. Friday.
Out of 21 teams competing Thursday, five Decatur schools finished in the top 10. Banks-Caddell Elementary finished third, Leon Sheffield Magnet Elementary School finished fourth, Walter Jackson Elementary finished fifth, Austinville Elementary finished sixth, and West Decatur Elementary finished eighth.
Other schools that competed included several from Madison County and F.E. Burleson Elementary from the Hartselle district, which competed for the first time in the school's history. They ended up placing ninth overall.
Garcia and her teammates Etan Figueroa and Rogelio Orona, also fifth graders, competed in the Goblin races last year and said they knew what to expect coming into the competition.
"This year, we would practice every Wednesday in front of the school and practice all the different races: drag, slalom, and circuit," Figueroa said.
All cars competed three times in each of the three races. Scores were judged based on the three races and the PowerPoint presentation that teams presented to Greenpower officials before the race.
Each team has a designated driver and pusher, and the pusher's role is to push the car a short distance at the beginning of the race to give it some acceleration.
"I figured since I was big, I would be a pusher," Figueroa said.
Garcia and Orona said Figueroa's strength worked to his advantage as a pusher. Orona was the driver of their space-themed car during the circuit race.
Greenpower cars use alternative fuel sources like electricity to limit carbon emissions, and all cars on Thursday were powered by small electric batteries.
This was the first time West Decatur Elementary fifth graders Jahntiel Novelo and Princeton Hammond competed in the Greenpower races and they said in addition to learning how to assemble their car and learning racing techniques, they learned the importance of green energy.
"With a gas-powered engine, there could be the chance of a gas leak and that could turn into a bad situation," Novelo said. "Electric-powered engines, for us kids, is much safer and more efficient."
Novelo drove the West Decatur car, which was modeled after DC Comics' Batmobile.
Decatur City Schools Technology Director Faith Plunkett was the coordinator for the races on Thursday and said Oak Park Elementary, Banks-Caddell Elementary, and West Decatur Elementary will be competing in the national Goblin Race at Talladega Superspeedway on May 3 and 4.
"They were the only schools we had in our district that signed up to go," Plunkett said.
The next Goblin race will be held at Hazel Green High School on Mar. 30. Following that is the Goblin Cup at Milton Franklin Stadium in Huntsville on April 12. Several elementary schools from Decatur will compete in the races.
— wes.tomlinson@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2442.
