On Friday, March 14, 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 Hayden Gary, Taylor Warren, Tiler Page, Haley Lawter, Emmett Zacharias, Kalob Jackson, Jeffrey Weaver and Dr. Pettis, coach.
The High School Model bridge building team also place first.  High school team members included Sam Murray, Sam Rhinehardt, Robbie Rardin, Sam Kornmayer, Sloan Harrison, Will Constine 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 blue print of their bridge and gave an oral presentation explaining the merits of the bridge the team entered in the competition.
The PCMS and PCHS Model bridge teams both now qualify for the state finals in Raleigh on April 11.
– article submitted
by Langlee Garrett