Creekview High School Wins Team America Rocketry Challenge

CANTON, GA — Creekview High School earlier this week won the top prize at the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

The students will now represent the United States at the International Rocketry Challenge at the Farnborough Air Show outside of London in July, facing off against teams from the United Kingdom, France and Japan.

The team’s victory follows months of preparation designing, building, and testing a rocket capable of meeting rigorous mission parameters set by the contest’s sponsors – the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and National Association of Rocketry.

Saturday's final fly-off was an all-day event held at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia. A team from Creekview also took home the top prize at the 2014 edition of the Rocketry Challenge. One member of the 2014 championship team returned to coach this year’s team from Creekview.

“I want to thank God for allowing us to get this victory and giving us the perfect conditions for both of our launches so we can be put in this position to represent the U.S.,” Brayden Dodge, 18, said of the victory. “The Team America Rocketry Challenge inspires thousands of kids across the nation to get into STEM and it’s really an amazing experience to come out here and see what teams can do.”

For his senior project, Dodge decided to mentor aspiring rocketeers at Creekland Middle School, helping to create a talent pipeline that will keep his school in the contest for years to come. This year, Creekland Middle School was a Top 100 finalist and competed in the finals at Great Meadow.

he Top 100 teams, hailing from 28 states and the District of Columbia, competed for a total of $100,000 in prize money and scholarships at the national finals. The $100,000 prize pool will be split among the Top 10 teams. The U.S. champions from Creekview will take home the top prize of $20,000.

Photo: The Creekview HS Aeronautics team members are, from left to right, front row: Ryan Lamazares, Kennedy Hugo; back row: Aiden McChesney, Warren Teachworth and Captain Brayden Dodge. Not pictured: Chris Youngblood. Credit: Cherokee County School District