KHS Bridge Pal Competition
April 04, 2008
PRESS RELEASE
KnoxvilleHigh School
600 Main St, Knoxville, IL
17th Bridge-Pal Competition
Sponsored By
The Department of Civil Engineering
And Construction
At Bradley University
In 1991, Dr. Amir Al-Khafaji, CEC Chairman, developed the “Bridge-Pal Program”
to foster an interest in engineering among area high school students and help students
understand the value of good citizenship and service. As part of this program, each year
CEC plans and carries out a balsa wood bridge building contest among interested student
groups from area high schools. There is no limit on the number of teams that each high school can enter. This year the total number of teams participating in this competition was 95. Each team may consist of up to four members. The Bridge Pal bridge-busting event was held at Northwoods Mall, Peoria, Illinois on February, 23, 2008.
Knoxville High School entered eight teams in the competition and three of those teams finished in the top ten. The team consisting of Matt Larson and Brandon Kennelly finished in 4th place supporting a weight of 170 lbs. Jake Wedemeier and Justin Willett placed 5th supporting 140 lbs. while Blake Benedict and Jasmine Jones finished in 10th place with a supporting weight of 129lbs.
The top five teams are invited to the CEC Honors Banquet to be held in May at Bradley University. Monetary awards are given for 1st through 5th place teams as well as a fully functioning student version of AutoCAD for their respective schools.
Knoxville High School Physics Teacher Lori Ettinger was the advisor for the Knoxville students and was assisted by Industrial Technology Teacher Bryan Murray.
Contact: Lisa Franey, ljfraney@bluebullets.org, 289-2324 or 309-335-3986
