Zips Engineering students earn first-place finishes at ASCE regionals, advance to nationals
UA engineering students captured two first-place titles and five top-three finishes, with the Surveying team moving on to nationals.
Evan Murphy, Braden Sapp, Madison Richards, Seth Boyd and Braeden Bines hold their first-place award for the Surveying competition.
Students from The University of Akron (UA) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter showcased their skills and teamwork at the ASCE Eastern Great Lakes Student Symposium, held April 9-11 in Youngstown, Ohio. The annual event brings together civil engineering students from universities across Ohio and Michigan to compete in hands-on design challenges while building professional connections.
A total of 26 UA students competed in eight events, including Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge, Construction Institute, Surveying, Student Symposium Paper (Ethics Paper), Concrete Cornhole, Concrete Frisbee and 3D Printed Bridge.
Megan McCracken, Ben Noirot, Naomi Wertz and Lauren LaRue hold their first-place award for the Construction Institute competition.
Their performance resulted in five top-three finishes, demonstrating both technical skill and strong collaboration across teams.
UA’s Surveying team won its category and advanced to the national competition in West Virginia, June 25–27, continuing its success on a larger stage. UA students also earned a first-place finish in the Construction Institute competition, while Emma Brutoski placed third in the Student Symposium Paper. The Concrete Cornhole team placed second, and the 3D Printed Bridge team led by Zane Ketola earned third place.
Emma Brutoski displays her third-place award for the Student Symposium Paper competition.
For UA students, the symposium represents more than competition. It is an opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in real-world settings while building lasting professional connections.
“The experience of going to regionals allows us to go beyond our major,” said Megan McCracken, president of the UA ASCE student chapter. “We are able to connect with one another and compete in competitions that help us build technical skills that we can carry into our professional careers.”
McCracken emphasized how these competitions directly reinforce coursework while accelerating student learning.
“We can use lessons from statics to design a steel bridge that sustains a load test or concepts from reinforced concrete design to build a concrete canoe,” she said. “Even students who have not taken these courses yet gain valuable experience by participating in design teams.”
Audrey Francis, Amelia Roch, Ryan Zorko, Dr. David Roke, Zane Ketola, Evan Murphy and Braeden Bines pose with this year’s steel bridge.
Dr. David Roke, chair of the Department of Civil Engineering at UA, praised the students for their performance and professionalism. “Our students continue to demonstrate exceptional technical ability, creativity and teamwork in highly competitive environments,” he said. “Their success at regionals reflects both their dedication and the strength of experiential learning within our program.”
Experiential learning opportunities like the symposium allow UA students to extend their learning beyond the classroom, strengthening technical expertise, teamwork and professional readiness. Through their performance and participation, UA students demonstrated the impact of hands-on learning and the strength of the university’s engineering design teams.
Zane Ketola stands with his bridge and poster for the 3D Printed Bridge competition.
About the ASCE competitions
ASCE student symposium competitions are designed to give civil engineering students hands-on experience applying classroom concepts to real-world engineering challenges. Events such as Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge and Surveying require teams to design, build and test projects under competition constraints, emphasizing technical design, construction methods, project management and teamwork. Other events, including Construction Institute and the Student Symposium Paper, focus on construction problem-solving and professional communication skills. Together, the competitions prepare students for industry by simulating the types of challenges engineers face in practice while fostering collaboration, innovation and leadership.
RELATED CONTENT:
- ASCE Student Chapter earns top finishes at Regional Competitions
- Learn more about Civil Engineering at UA
Media contact: media@uakron.edu
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