GREENVILLE – In commemoration of National Engineers’ Week (Feb. 16-22, 2025), the Engineering Tech Prep Class at Greenville High School held an annual competition involving the construction of balsa wood structures.
The 17th annual competition partnering with Mote & Associates was held on Friday, February 28. In the past, bridges, boom cranes and earthquake-resistant multi-story towers have been constructed of balsa wood. This year, balsa wood bridges were built to support the weight of sand in a bucket suspended from the bridge deck. Sand was added to the bucket as each bridge was connected to a platform base until it collapsed. The structure that held the most weight with the highest efficiency won the competition.
Efficiency was calculated by dividing the weight held in the bucket by the structure’s weight.
Opening the event, Greenville Mayor Jeff Whitaker read and presented a Proclamation professing the week of Feb. 16-22, 2025 as National Engineer’s Week in the City of Greenville.
Other guests present included:
Mike Bowers, Darke County Economic Development Director
Denise Elsas, Darke County Economic Development Workforce Specialist
Randall Bowman, GHS Career Tech Advisory Committee
Bob Brown, GHS Career Tech Advisory Committee
Corey Schmidt, GHS Career Tech Advisory Committee
Jerry McClannan, Mote & Associates, Inc.
Nathan Miniard, Mote & Associates, Inc.
Brian Mitsch, Mote & Associates, Inc.
Jake Subler, Mote & Associates, Inc.
Engineering Tech Prep Teachers Mike Manix and Joshua Moore determined the guidelines for this year’s competition. Classes of junior and senior students, including 29 students on eight teams, were instructed to build bridges of balsa wood. Jerry McClannan, Nathan Miniard, and Brian Mitsch of Mote & Associates were able to mentor the students as they began preparing their designs on Monday, February 24, 2025.
On the morning of the competition, each team completed the construction of their project design. The competition took place at 12:30 P.M.
The winning teams were:
First place structure with an efficiency of 38,265% – Ryan Burrowes, Shyanne Gibboney, Tryston Good, and Kevin Nguyen.
Second place structure with an efficiency of 34,409% – John Barr, David Conway, Aiden Manix, and Jack Suter.
Third place structure with an efficiency of 33,436% – Ashton Kincaid, Luke Kiser, and Trey Rammel.
The winning team will receive certificates and gifts from Mote & Associates.
