Concrete Canoe Mavericks

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The MSA concrete canoe in action.

Photos by student photographer Alex Zhou. Videos by student videographer Ashford Reyes. Story by Aimee Carter, Director of Development.

Miller School of Albemarle students earned the “Spirit of Competition” award in this past weekend’s American Society of Civil Engineers’ regional Concrete Canoe Competition placing fourth overall, an impressive feat being the only high school in the country participating. In its third year of competition, the Miller School team continues to make waves across the country with its dedication to student-led success. 

The challenge, which is both mental and physical, is part of the annual Virginias ASCE Student Symposium. Teams from UVA, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Liberty, Old Dominion, and Virginia Military Institute competed. Miller defeated 17-year winner Fairmont State in both the project proposal and technical presentations and was edged out by just two points in the final product prototype portion of the competition. 

Miller made a strong showing despite windy conditions in the Men’s and Women’s slalom races placing 4th in men's and 5th in women’s. The Miller men, women, and co-ed sprint teams did not fare as well, however, the co-ed sprint team earned the team the “Spirit of Competition” award, swimming the canoe across the finish line after catastrophe hit the canoe near the finish line, causing the canoe to become submerged. 

Team captain and Miller 10th grader, Sigrid Herlevsen, said, “Being able to go to the competition and see all the other colleges, just showed how hard we all had to work to get here.”

Mix design manager, Fin Harrison, Miller Senior, said, “my experience on this team has given me hands-on experience with real-world engineering problems, and will help me gain a role on my college team next year. I am very thankful to Miller for this opportunity.”

Zachary Binter, 8th grader, and the youngest paddler to participate in the entire country, said “I am really happy with how our canoe turned out this year, and we are already planning on improvements for next year!”

Guided by Applied Engineering Program Director, Christine Zito, and Engineering teachers Tom Kotol and Rich Magee, students have built upon the program that started just four years ago. Concrete Canoe team members meet daily after school and are already at work building off the skills they learned this year. Several of Miller’s alumni are now serving on their respective college teams.