National Concrete Canoe Competition Press Release
June 19, 2006
The ACES Concrete Canoe team, composed of civil engineering students from the University of Evansville, made the long trek to Stillwater, OK, from Evansville, IN, on June 14 to compete against 22 other civil engineering programs from across the country in the 19th annual National Concrete Canoe Competition, hosted by Oklahoma State University and sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and Degussa/Masterbuilders. The 23 schools represented 18 regions in the United States and won an invitation to nationals by coming in first or second in their respective regional conferences. ACES Concrete Canoe, after only six years of competition, won a bid to nationals for the second year in a row, coming in second in the Great Lakes Regional Conference behind defending national champion the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The judging for the competition actually began in May with the submission of a formal report describing significant work in design, analysis, construction and project management. Events at Oklahoma State University began on Willard Lawn where all canoes were displayed under the blazing Oklahoma sun to be judged for construction quality and aesthetics. Formal presentations were given in the O-Club of the Gallagher-Iba arena, on Friday, June 16th. After an evening of storms, sprint and endurance races were held on a cold, windy and choppy Boomer Lake on Saturday, June 17th.
Competition was stiff with traditional powerhouse schools such as Clemson University, University of California-Berkeley, University of Alabama-Huntsville and Western Kentucky University looking to unseat three-time national champion University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the end, Wisconsin-Madison proved to be up to the challenge and won the overall competition for the fourth year in a row. The University of Evansville, after a rebuilding year and with key-positions filled by a plucky group of underclassmen, placed 15th and beat out much larger and more experienced schools such as Texas A&M University, the University of Oklahoma, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, as well as Polytechnic University (Brooklyn, NY), Louisiana State University, the University of Maine, Fairmont State University, and Clarkson University.
The UE team was well-represented in Oklahoma by co-captains Blair Bozoarth and Brian Meunier, both sophomores, juniors Jennifer Blankenship, Nick Waninger, sophomores, Brian Fillenwarth, Jackie Foote, and Russ Keller, and freshmen Cody Buckley and Mary Dial. During the academic year the team was managed by senior Tyler Tackett and junior Jody Chapman. The students were accompanied by faculty advisors Mr. Chris Gwaltney, Dr. Brian Swenty, and Dr. Mark Valenzuela.
(From left to right) Junior civil engineering student Nick Waninger, sophomore Brian Meunier, and sophomore Blair Bozoarth in the 600-meter three-man slalom/endurance event. Their concrete canoe, Sioux Canoe, weighs in at 176 lbs and is 20 feet 8 inches long. Other race events included the 600-meter three-woman slalom/endurance race, 200-meter two-person men’s and women’s sprints, and 200-meter four-person coed sprints.