West Virginia bridge design and build contest winners announced for 2024

Danielle Sandler
·2 min read

BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — Multiple local schools had students place high at the West Virginia Bridge Design & Build Contest.

The 2024 West Virginia Bridge Design & Build Contest was held on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at WVU Tech in Beckley where teams from local schools, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School and PikeView High School, took home honors.

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38 teams from 21 counties participated in this year’s 2024 competition. During the competition, middle school and high school students competed against each other in both computer software and balsa wood model contests. The teams must come up with the strongest and most profitable bridge designs. The contest is sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), WVU Tech, BridgeWalk, and the West Virginia Department of Education.

35 teams made it to the finals, and 30 were at the WVU Tech campus. The contest promotes STEM education and helps inspire future engineers. Students have the chance to win cash prizes and a free BridgeWalk tour for themselves and their families.

First place in the software design competition:

  • Eastern Greenbrier Middle School in the middle school division.

  • Students from PikeView High School in the high school division.

First place in the balsa wood bridge competition:

  • Eastern Greenbrier Middle School in the middle school division.

  • PikeView High School in the high school division.

To view video from the competition visit the WVDOT Facebook page. Interviews from the competition are featured on the 191st episode of the WVDOT’s podcast, “WV Around the DOT,”. It will go live on Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 4:00 P.M.

WINNERS:
Software competition, middle school:

  • First Place: Emma Vincent and Ellie Burns, team DumbleDores Army, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.

  • Second Place: Laura Du and Riya Zenn, team In it for the money, Suncrest Middle School.

  • Third Place: Ben Kelso and Saja Huggi, team Scheming, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.

Software competition, high school:

  • First Place: Ben Williams and Jacob Lafferty, team Infinity+2, PikeView High School.

  • Second Place: Landon Palmer and Landon Lester, team Landon_Squared, PikeView High School.

  • Third Place: Larry Du and Max Chen, team LarryMax, Morgantown High School.

Balsa wood bridge competition, middle school:

  • First Place: Arabella Webb, team The Strawberries, Eastern Greenbrier Middle School.

  • Second Place: Laura Du and Riya Zenn, team Initforthemoney, Suncrest Middle School.

  • Third Place: Carley Coleman, team Tinker Belles, Andrew Jackson Middle School.

  • Most Creative: John Williams, team Johniscool1000000000.

Balsa wood bridge competition, high school:

  • First Place: Johnathon Scott Meadows, team UNcivil engineering, PikeView High School.

  • Second Place: Parker Worline and Ethan Coleman, team PandE, Winfield High School.

  • Third Place: Janie Gilchrist and Alex Gilchrist, team AsianInvasion, Morgantown High School.

  • Most Creative: Madelyn Cole and Parker Shrewsbury, team Ihavethehighground, PikeView High School.

  • Most Creative: Connor Atkins and Lucas Messenger, team Negative Zero, East Fairmont High School.

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To register for next year, download bridge design software, or more information, visit https://wvbridgedesignandbuildcontest.com.

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