Concrete Canoe Team Qualifies for Nationals
May 1, 2006
For the second year in a row, the University of Evansville concrete canoe team qualified for the National Concrete Canoe Competition, hosted this year by Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK, June 15-17, 2006.
On April 27, 20 civil engineering students from the University of Evansville traveled to Madison, Wisc., for the 2006 Great Lakes Regional Conference to compete against 10 other schools in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. On Friday, UE students participated in race day and won second place in men's sprints, third place in women's sprints, and second place in men's endurance and slalom. Saturday was presentation day with teams given five minutes to present technical details of the design, construction, and project management of the canoe. UE students Brian Meunier, Blair Bozoarth and Matt Melton finished second place in the presentation, behind three-time national champion University of Wisconsin-Madison and won second place in their final report. With strong showings in the two main academic portions of the competition, UE placed second overall in the competition behind University of Wisconsin-Madison. This finish allows UE to earn a bid to the national competition.
This year's Aces Concrete Canoe team was led by: project manager Tyler Tackett (senior), assistant project manager Jody Chapman (junior), construction chief Brian Meunier (sophomore), hull design leaders Blair Bozoarth (sophomore), Jackie Foote (sophomore) and Jon Longenecker (junior), concrete mix design team leaders Brian Fillenwarth (sophomore) and Matt Melton (junior), and paddling captain Nick Waninger (junior). The paddling team consisted of Bozoarth, Foote, Meunier, Waninger, Jennifer Blankenship (junior) and Mary Dial (freshman).
The University of Evansville began competing in the canoe project in 2001 and is one of the smallest schools to make it to Nationals. The Great Lakes Region includes schools such as University of Wisconsin-Madison, Purdue University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Southern Indiana, Bradley University, Tri-State University, University of Notre Dame, and Milwaukee School of Engineering. Competitors at the National Competition will include Texas A&M University, Clemson University, University of Alabama-Huntsville, University of Washington, and Michigan Tech.
This year's canoe, christened "Sioux Canoe," is 20 feet 8 inches long and weighs 165 lbs. It is made with a special lightweight concrete designed by the civil engineering students.
In other UE ASCE-related news, the chapter has earned a "Letter of Honorable Mention" from the National ASCE Office for activities and annual report during the 2005 calendar year. The award places the UE ASCE Chapter as one of the top 40 student chapters in the country.
Pictured Above Right: 2006 Aces Concrete Canoe Team Pictured Below Left: Brian Meunier and Blair Bozoarth in the Men's Division Race. Pictured Below Right: Jennifer Blankenship and Mary Dial paddle the Sioux Canoe in the Women's Division Race.
