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Polk County Middle School’s model bridge building team has advanced to the state finals, continuing their impressive run in the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s competition.

The team won the regional competition held Friday at Haywood Community College in Clyde, qualifying them for the state championship scheduled for April 25 in Raleigh.

Polk Middle has dominated the competition in recent years, winning the last three state finals and six state titles since 2014.

The team’s bridge, designed and built by eighth grader Jacob Jenne, weighed just 36 grams but supported 19.1 kilograms during the competition.

“These students combine creativity with technical knowledge in ways that continue to impress the judges,” said Leslie Rhinehart, STEM teacher at Polk Middle and the team’s coach.

The Polk Middle team includes Jenne, Jared Aguilera, Alexis Carroll, Adriauna Twitty, Allie Lewis, Jasper Clark and Adam Baglia. All team members contributed to the written report and participated in the oral presentation, which featured a Minions theme.

They competed against teams from Smokey Mountain Elementary and West McDowell Middle School.

The NCDOT Model Bridge Building Competition, now in its 25th year, is held in partnership with Carolinas Associated General Contractors and the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina. Since 2000, the competition has encouraged students to develop math and science skills used in transportation, construction and engineering careers.

Teams are judged on oral presentation, written report, design drawing and bridge efficiency. The efficiency score is calculated by multiplying 0.10 by the weight carried in grams, divided by the bridge’s weight in grams.

The final score combines the efficiency score with points awarded for presentation, report and drawing components.