Chaffee, Oak Ridge students take home top honors at bridge competition

Several students from Chaffee and Oak Ridge high schools recently took home top honors in the Missouri Department of Transportation's bridge-building competition.

Students from 25 high schools across Missouri participated in the 19th annual event, which handed out awards based on aesthetic design, strength of build compared to weight of the bridge, and school with best overall performance. Nearly 250 model bridges were constructed at the competition, which was held at Southeast Missouri State University.

Chaffee High School student Ayne Held won first place in the competition. Bridges were tested for how much weight they could hold before breaking. Held's winning entry broke at 79.4 pounds. She also took home the award for "Most Aesthetic" bridge design.

Second- through fifth-place awards were all awarded to students from Oak Ridge High School: Kendall Marshall, Karson Ward, Tanner Slinkard and Brock Hobeck.

Oak Ridge High School won first place in "Best Overall Performance". Science teacher Mark Gihring accepted the award and said student participation in the competition has become a trend for the school.

"The students want to do it," Gihring said. "Oak Ridge has been successful in the contest over the years, so it's sort of a self-propagating situation. We've won first place six or seven times."

One of the goals of the competition is to introduce students to engineering principles, helping them understand there are opportunities in the field for future careers. Gihring said he has had students go on to pursue engineering degrees.

We're happy to see the local participation in the state competition and would hope even more schools and students participate in the future. Competitions such as this one and the regional science fair, among others, are good opportunities for students to put classroom learning into practice. And sometimes it can lead to prizes, competition opportunities or even scholarships. Even at the most basic level, participation exposes students to new opportunities for learning and growth.

Congratulations to all the local winners.