OCAY League Competition Tests Students’ Engineering Skills

by Submitted article | March 23, 2017 7:35 am

The team from Mexico Academy and Central Schools is all smiles after earning first place. participants included: Rob Cassidy, Dylan Dunn, Sean Heagerty, Alex Linerode, John Ocker, Ben Pelow, Brendon Pullen, Victoria Ross, Jack Ryan, Liam Simko, Caitlin Spurling and Austin Whitaker.
The team from Mexico Academy and Central Schools is all smiles after earning first place. participants included: Rob Cassidy, Dylan Dunn, Sean Heagerty, Alex Linerode, John Ocker, Ben Pelow, Brendon Pullen, Victoria Ross, Jack Ryan, Liam Simko, Caitlin Spurling and Austin Whitaker.

Dozens of local students displayed their knowledge and demonstrated their engineering skills recently during the third Oswego County Academic Youth League challenge of the school year.

The competition, dubbed “Build, Build, Build,” required students to work together to accomplish a variety of engineering tasks.

Pulaski students celebrate their second place finish. Participants included: Tom Brodeur, Britney Castillo, Tom Gibbons, Bailey Felio, Evan Jones, Delilah Mehallow, Brett Nielson, Marc Paycon, Brandon Philips, Connor Raham, Lenny Spano and Ruthie Van der Heide.
Pulaski students celebrate their second place finish. Participants included: Tom Brodeur, Britney Castillo, Tom Gibbons, Bailey Felio, Evan Jones, Delilah Mehallow, Brett Nielson, Marc Paycon, Brandon Philips, Connor Raham, Lenny Spano and Ruthie Van der Heide.

Student teams from Altmar-Parish-Williamstown, Central Square, Fulton, Hannibal, Mexico, Oswego, Pulaski and Sandy Creek represented their respective school districts as they built towers, catapults, clocks, airplanes and irrigation systems.

“The students were limited in terms of the materials they could use for the build,” said APW OCAY League adviser Danni Miller. “It required them to think outside the box and use a lot of planning and teamwork for each build.”

Each completed task was judged and scored based on specific criteria such as stability, height, distance and effectiveness.

Oswego students pose after earning third place. Participants were: Michael Beckwith, Nicholas Brown, Aaric Celeste, Ben Dafoe, Danielle DelConte, Patrick Dowdle, Lisa Kanbur, Ellie Lisec, Jordan Runner, Sarah Smolinski, Sophia Throop and Jordan Tryon.
Oswego students pose after earning third place. Participants were: Michael Beckwith, Nicholas Brown, Aaric Celeste, Ben Dafoe, Danielle DelConte, Patrick Dowdle, Lisa Kanbur, Ellie Lisec, Jordan Runner, Sarah Smolinski, Sophia Throop and Jordan Tryon.

The top three teams were Mexico Academy and Central School District (first place); Pulaski Academy and Central School District (second place); and Oswego City School District (third place).

Event coordinator Matthew Goodnough, of the Fulton City School District, lauded the students for their efforts as he presented them with medals.

“You had some very creative solutions to some very difficult builds,” he said. “You all did a great job.”

OCAY League is coordinated through the Center for Instruction, Technology and Innovation’s gifted and talented program.

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