Area students score wins in solar powered car event

Springfield, Mass. — They traveled to Massachusetts with their model solar powered cars, full of confidence after winning events in the county finals and taking award after award. The middle school students excelled in TransOptions Morris, Warren and Sussex County Junior Solar Sprints Competition and won the right to go on to the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association 2007 Championships held in Springfield, Mass. The Junior Solar Sprints (JSS) Competition is TransOptions premier environmental education program in which middle school students design, construct and race model solar powered cars. JSS is one part of an alternative fuel instructional program offered by TransOptions. This year, close to 3000 students from 41 schools were involved in TransOptions northwest NJ JSS program. The teams that excelled in categories such as design and speed were selected to represent TransOptions at the Northeast Championships. At the championships 115 teams made up of 275 middle school students vied for recognition of who built the fastest, best crafted, most innovative, and finest technically designed model solar car. Winning Grand Champion of the event was “Squidinator,” designed and built by a team from Northwest Christian School in Newton. Team members Erin Wolters, Sarah Salcone, Faith Leuzarder and Alisha Brinkerhoff crafted a car that also took second place in Technical Merit and second place in Craftsmanship. The speed competition was dominated by students from the Newton area. Winning first place was “The Charger” from McKeown Elementary school, Hamption Township: Jeff Chandler, Conor Deem and Alex Fainis. Newton’s Halsted Middle School took third place in speed. “The Sixth Sense” was comprised of Kevin Kelly, Mike Bell, Marshall Chadley and Peter DePalma. Lauren Faber and Debi Faber from Northwest Christian School, Newton, took first place in craftsmanship with their car “Pink Panther,” “Whirl Wind” from Ridge and Valley Charter School, Blairstown, comprised of Dillon Uzar, Tomino Koven, Ezra Dowd, and Gary Burbage won first place in Innovation and third place in Techincal Merit. Third place in Innovation was won by Eric Steiner from Mt. Arlington Public School, Mt. Arlington and his car “The Rainbow”. Billy Cotton, Albert Huizing and Clarke Moynihan from Northwest Christian School, Newton, were awarded honorable mention in Innovation with “Ghost Rider”. Additional New Jersey winners were Kelsey Silva, Meghan Cloidt, Erica Parlavecchio, and Erin Rehm from Ridgedale Middle School, Florham Park. “Carnival Rider” was selected as the winner of the Students Choice Award. For more information on Junior Solar Sprints and TransOptions full program of environmental education offerings, call 973-267-7600 or visit www.TransOptions.org.