Problem-solvers -- Burns High School students, from left, Wyatt Dyer, Jacob Berg and Jay Leininger, try to beat the clock in the first round of a statewide engineering problem-solving contest at the University of Wyoming.

Powell, Casper, Laramie, Burns Teams Win Engineering Competition at UW

March 19, 2007 - Teams from Powell, Casper, Laramie and Burns high schools won their respective divisions in a statewide engineering problem-solving contest at the University of Wyoming.

Casper Kelly Walsh High School won the large school varsity competition, while Powell High School won the small varsity contest.

Laramie High School won the large school junior varsity competition, and Burns High School claimed first place in the small school junior varsity contest.

Each year, the UW College of Engineering hosts the JETS/TEAMS (Junior Engineering Technical Society/Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science) competition. High school students across the state compete as teams in an open-book, two-part collaborative problem-solving test. Nationwide, more than 20,000 high school students participate each year.

"JETS promotes interest in engineering, science, mathematics, and technology, and is dedicated to providing real-world engineering and problem-solving experience to high school students," says Dick Schmidt, UW College of Engineering associate dean. "These programs challenge students to discover engineering in high school. JETS programs and resources get students involved with engineering and preparing for the future."

Members of the first-place Kelly Walsh large school varsity team are Daniel Bulfer, Kelsey Higginson, Joseph Hollingsworth, Tim Hough, Michael Loveland, Chris McAulay, Ben Toews and Elly Zimmer. Their coach is Chad Sharpe.

Members of Powell High School's first place small school varsity team are Stephen Adams, Saige Albert, Travis Dooley, Jed Lehman, Ty Lewis, Shastina McKeag, Matt Miller, and Gary Staeble. Their coach is Thom Miller.

Coach Jennifer Bennett's winning Laramie High School junior varsity team members are Chris Cameron, Nate Dyess, Ryan Griesbach, Han Li, Josh McConnell, Mike Pryzgocki, Srihari Sritharan and Jascha Wilken.

Members of the first-place small school junior varsity Burns High School team are Jacob Berg, Wyatt Dyer and Jay Leininger. Eric Allen is the team's coach.