The rocketry team from Webster City High School placed third in the country out of 615 teams in this year’s American Rocketry Challenge.
The team competed against 99 other teams in the National Finals which took place at 10 regional launch sites earlier this month. The Webster City students and advisor Mark Murphy participated in the contest held in Dayton, Ohio. Students worked on how to safely carry a payload of one raw egg to three different altitude and time goals and to keep the egg intact when reaching the ground.
The Webster City High School will receive $14,000 in total prizes to be split between the team, the school, and for the best in launch site at Dayton, Ohio. Webster City High School will also receive an invitation to participate in NASA’s Student Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry with high-powered rockets and challenging mission parameters.
The first place finisher was from Oregon Episcopal School in Portland. Two other Iowa teams competed in the national finals — teams from Cedar Falls High School and Maharishi High School in Fairfield.
(Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)