YSU Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge Teams Win Regionals

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Youngstown State University’s concrete canoe and steel bridge teams both recently won first place at the Eastern Great Lakes regional competition.

During the regional competition March 30-April 1 at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, both teams qualified for their respective national competitions. In addition to scoring first overall, the steel bridge team also claimed first place in construction speed, lightness, stiffness, cost estimate, economy and efficiency. The concrete canoe team also scored first overall, and finished first in final product prototype and both the men’s and women’s slalom race.

This is the third consecutive year that both YSU teams came home with the top prize in regionals, beating more than 15 teams, including Case Western Reserve University, University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of Cincinnati, University of Akron and Cleveland State University.

The steel bridge team has placed first in five of the past six regional contests, and the concrete canoe team has won four of the past five.

The 2023 National Steel Bridge Competition will take place at the University of California San Diego on June 2 and 3, and the National Concrete Canoe Competition will take place at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on June 10-12.

The canoe event requires teams to design and construct a seaworthy canoe made entirely of concrete and compete in four categories: design paper, oral presentation, final product and several racing events. The bridge team develops and builds a scale-model steel bridge that must span approximately 20 feet and carry 2,500 pounds. Teams must determine how to fabricate their bridge and then plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction at the competition.

In 2022, the steel bridge team placed seventh at nationals, and the concrete canoe team placed fourth.

Pictured at top: Members of the YSU bridge team are, from left, Klea Shehu, Nathan Chalus, Jacob Huzyak, Zachary Glavic, Marshall Sarisky and Michael Sandora. (Youngstown State University)

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.