On Friday, March 21, the Polk County Middle School Model Bridge Building Team placed first in the Middle School Division at the N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Western Regional Competition at Morganton, N.C. Middle school team members include Kalob Jackson, Jeffrey Weaver, David Horton, Grant Wooten and Dr. Pettis, coach.

The Polk County High School Model Bridge Building Team also placed first. High school team members included Sam Rhinehardt, Robbie Rardin, Sam Kornmayer, Sloan Harrison, Will Constine, Dylan Hunt, Emmett Zacharias, Coach Rhinehart and Coach Mintz.

For the competition, the PCMS and PCHS model bridge teams constructed a balsa wood bridge using the specifications provided by the NCDOT, wrote a report on the history of bridge building, drew a full scale blueprint of their bridge and gave an oral presentation explaining the merits of the bridge the team entered in the competition.

The middle and high school teams now qualify for the state finals in Raleigh, N.C. on April 17.

– Submitted by Langlee Garrett