Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge Place First and Second in National Competitions

Congratulations are in order for UF ASCE’s concrete canoe team and the steel bridge team. They placed first overall and second overall in their national competitions, respectively.

It was smooth sailing for the concrete canoe team at the 2019 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Concrete Canoe Competition. The event was held from June 6 to 8 at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, FL.

“This was a tremendous overall team achievement under the leadership of co-project managers Maitland Melnyk and Ryan Telemko, as the team set several new benchmarks,” said Dr. Robert Thieke, civil department head and concrete canoe team faculty advisor.

The team earned 92.3 out of 100 points, setting the record for the highest overall point total in UF history. They placed first in the Oral Presentation and Design Paper competitions, second in the Final Product category and in Racing Points.

“This means that the past nine months of hard work have paid off in the best possible way. We’ve successfully continued the legacy of innovation and creativity set by past UF Concrete Canoe teams and UF civil engineering students,” added Maitland Melnyk, concrete canoe team co-captain.

This win is coming off the heels of the Steel Bridge team’s second overall placement in the 2019 Student Steel Bridge Competition at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL. The national competition took place from May 31 to June 1.

“We are extremely proud of our accomplishments this year, but as a team we strive to be the best and we want to accentuate that with another national championship,” said Ryan du Chanois, steel bridge team co-captain.

The steel bridge group placed in the top three in the Stiffness and Construction Economy categories.

Both teams have a recent history of success in their national competitions. Concrete canoe has the best record of any team in the country in the past five years, and steel bridge placed top three in 2015 and 2016.

Congratulations to all the students and faculty advisors on outstanding team performances.

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