The concrete canoe, Springseeker, found gold in Utah and set UF engineering students apart with a fourth national title.  

UF’s 12-member concrete canoe team competed Saturday at the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Engineering Championships held in Provo, Utah—with 250 students representing 25 universities.  

The Gator victory prevented the chance of a three-peat by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The two schools have battled over the last decade, winning a combined eight titles.  

The title comes on top of another big engineering win earlier in June when students won UF’s fourth consecutive title at the Student Steel Bridge Competition National Finals hosted by the American Institute of Steel Construction. 

“We are the only school in the U.S. to win both steel bridge and concrete canoe in the same year, and we’ve done it three times (2015, 2021, 2024), which speaks volumes about the quality of our students and the program,” said Dr. Taylor Rawlinson, the team’s laboratory manager, in a press release.  

Teams make the canoes with layers of concrete and carbon fiber and must balance material weight with performance. Springseeker topped out at 186 pounds, the fourth-lightest in the competition, compared with some canoes hitting more than 300 pounds. 

The racing portion of the event combines straight-line speed with maneuverability through turns. Teams must pick hull designs and weights accordingly.  

“I am so proud of our team,” Abigail Fronk, co-project manager, told ASCE. “It’s so fulfilling. But it’s also such an honor to be first place. It’s just an incredible feeling.”   

Other UF students who competed with the team in Utah include Sydney Sutherland, Payton Carter, Margaret Deaderick, Luke Gutierrez, Brennan Kade, Aiden Kittelson, Taylor Nestel, Thomas Raffenberg, Keegan Wittke, Alicia Demicco and Maya Patel.