Students compete in bridge building

By Harold Gwin

The contest is designed to foster an interest in careers in civil engineering.

YOUNGSTOWN — Kailee Knight, a junior at Niles McKinley High School, said teams from her high school were under a little pressure when they showed up for the third annual Mahoning Valley Miniature Bridge Building Competition.

McKinley sent two teams to the event, the first teams from Trumbull County to take part in the competition.

“It’s a little intimidating,” Knight acknowledged as she and partners on Team 2, Ashley and Amanda Ganyard, worked to construct their balsa-wood bridge Friday in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University.

The key to good bridge building?

“Measurements,” Ashley Ganyard volunteered.

“Not getting the glue on your fingers,” quipped her twin sister, Amanda.

Nearby, a Team 2 from Springfield Local finished their bridge early, giving them some free time while their competitors were still busy.

There was sufficient time to make two small wooden people to temporarily stick on the bridge as well as to build a YSU logo.

“We had some extra wood,” explained Kallie Rogers, a senior.

“We’re amusing ourselves,” added Waneta Carter, also a senior.

The team built a bridge as a test model before the competition and then built a second, modifying the design for the competition.

There were some last-minute modifications that allowed them to finish early.

“We cut to fit,” Carter explained.

“I think we’re going to do pretty good,” said Nicole Persing, also a senior.

The competition is designed to foster an interest in civil engineering offered at YSU and all around the country, said Anwarul Islam, associate professor of civil/environmental and chemical engineering at YSU.

The event is supported by both the Mahoning and Trumbull County engineering departments, and MS Consultants Inc. of Youngstown coordinates the competition. Boardman Hobby Center donated the construction materials.

The bridges have to have a span of 12 inches with a 2-inch roadbed width.

They are loaded with weight to the point of collapse, and the bridge that holds the most weight wins.

There is also an award for aesthetics.

Islam said interest in the program is growing, pointing out that the first Trumbull County school is involved this year.

The competition featured 17 teams from nine high schools, two more teams than last year, he said.

It gives the students a chance to see how engineers work and what they should hope to achieve as citizens when they grow up, Islam said.

Every participant gets a contest T-shirt, but one group — G-Dawg and the Lil Physicists — brought their own, bearing that name across the back.

G-Dawg turned out to be their math and science teacher, Sean Garner, who is his first year of teaching at Western Reserve High School.

“Our physics class is also a physics club,” Garner said, explaining that, coming up with a name for the club, the students settled on the “G-Dawg” moniker.

Youngstown Early College also sent two teams to the competition for the first time.

“Spread out the weight,” said Lester Bell III, a member of YEC’s Team 2, explaining his theory on building a good bridge.

He and his teammates, Jamar Matysiuk and Joe Ingram III, also freshmen, all said they were having fun and learning something in the process.

The participating high schools were Canfield, Choffin Career & Technical Center, Lowellville, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Niles, Poland, Springfield, Western Reserve and Youngstown Early College.

gwin@vindy.com

BRIDGE BUILDERS

High schools compete

Students from nine Mahoning and Trumbull County high schools took part in the third Mahoning Valley Miniature Bridge Building Competition on Friday at Youngstown State University. The results are:

First Place and Aesthetics Award

Canfield High School Team 2

Members: Andrew Halley, Trevor Tocco and Stephanie Brandenstein.

Adviser: Don Crum

Second Place

Niles McKinley High School Team 2

Members: Ashley Ganyard, Amanda Ganyard and Kailee Knight.

Adviser: Stephanie Thomas

Third place

Canfield High School Team 1

Members: Robin Rockney, Matt Schaefer and Adam Tewell.

Source: Mahoning Valley Miniature Bridge Building Competition