On Sun., April 6, 2014, the Bobcat Engineers defended their state title at the Maryland Engineering Challenge in the Cargo Ship Competition
The competition was held on Sunday at the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Teams had to construct and submit a cargo ship that sailed through a series of timed trials, testing how many pounds of cargo the ship can successfully hold. The team is coached by Mr. Serokos and Mr. Cerveny and is led by Senior Kevin Mark. The Bobcat Engineers made up four teams; each team has worked on a boat since September. The names of the teams were The Bobcat Cruiser, The Bobcat B.O.A.T, Bel Air Industries, and The Bobcat Operated AT.
Bel Air Industries is the boat that won 1st Place and gave the Bobcat Engineers their second state championship. Bel Air Industries’ boat was special because it was the only computer operated boat of the four submitted. The rest were operated via remote control. Bel Air Industries took 1st Place and Bobcat Operated AT won 2nd Place in the competition. The Bobcat Operated AT was presented with a major crisis when the day begun. The battery in the engine was dead. Kevin Mark, Bobcat Engineers Team Captain, hurried to detach the battery system from the Bel Air Industries boat, and reinstall it into the Bobcat Operated AT, the boat that won 2nd Place.
“We sent 4 boats to the competition. The Bobcat engineers do not compete against each other, we just help one another out,” said Bobcat Engineers coach, Mr. Serokos.
If the 1st and 2nd Place titles weren’t enough, Bel Air High School also set a record for the most boats submitted and highest participation rate in the history of the MEC Cargo Ship event.
The Bobcat Engineers won the competition last year, as well, with their boat the “Bobcat Buccaneer”, making them back to back state champions. Make sure to congratulate the Bobcat Engineers and their coaches this week for their superb achievement.