HOUSTON, Texas – Two local high school teams competed in the sixth annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 in Houston, Texas, over the weekend, and both won first place.
While this was the first year for Warsaw Area Career Center to compete in the international competition, Wawasee High School took the top prize for a second straight year. Two other Wawasee cars placed in the top 10 in their respective categories.
In the Urban Concept division, the Warsaw Area Career Center took first in the Alternative Diesel Energy category. Warsaw won a $2,000 first-place prize and trophy with their FAME-powered vehicle, “The Bengal Beast,” which achieved 106.1 miles per gallon.
In the Prototype division, Wawasee High School, Syracuse, took first place in the Diesel Energy category. With a best run of 1,290 mpg, the team won $2,000 and a trophy with their vehicle, “Diesel Weasel.”
“Last year we set the highest record ever for the Diesel category,” said Allen Coblentz, Wawasee teacher and adviser, in a telephone interview Monday afternoon.
In 2011, Wawasee set the record at 557 mpg. With 1,290 mpg this year, Coblentz said Wawasee “shattered” its own record.
“We won with our Diesel car. This is our second year of winning that, so it was equally rewarding to go back and defend our title,” Coblentz said.
“It’s always improving on the previous year that makes you successful,” he continued.
Coblentz said, in his opinion, Wawasee won again this year because they took the car last year and fine tuned it. Last year, Wawasee worked on the overall car, while this year they made adjustments to it based on feedback they received and their own study.
Wawasee also entered two other cars. The Battery Electric car got 940 mpg, good enough for second place, while the Gasoline car got 933 mpg, earning Wawasee eighth place in that category.
The awards ceremony was Sunday. When Warsaw was called to the stage for winning first place, Joe Bryan, WACC teacher and team adviser, said the students were surprised.
In a telephone interview from Arkansas Monday afternoon while Bryan was driving back, he said, “I’m telling you – the kids were shocked.”
The Shell Eco-marathon Americas is a challenge for students to design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicles that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy, according to information on the official website.
There are two divisions, Prototype and Urban Concept. Under Prototype, there are seven categories; under Urban Concept there are six categories. Special awards also are given.
“It was really cool,” said Bryan. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these kids.”
Bryan said the whole event and awards ceremony was treated like a major event.
“It was pretty unbelievable how they were treated,” Bryan said.
Coblentz said, “I’m proud of the kids and the effort they put into it and their commitment to build a vehicle as well as they did. I appreciated their effort and hard work.”
There are three international competitions, with the Americas’ contest held in Houston. This year, there were 112 teams representing Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the U.S. Teams are from high schools and colleges.
Sponsors of the contest include Southwest Research Institute, SKF, Michelin and Pennzoil Ultra.
Warsaw and Wawasee are both on spring break this week. A follow-up to this story will appear in next week’s Times-Union.
For more information about the competition or results, visit the official website at www.shell.com/home/content/ecomarathon
