- April 4, 2025
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Judges watch as Tara Elementary School fifth graders Kaylani Roney, Makenna Hutchinson and Annalise Jacobson celebrate scoring 50 points on the accuracy portion of the Catapult Challenge. (Photos by Liz Ramos)
William H. Bashaw Elementary fourth grader Ava Fieber and fifth graders Eliora Ross and Jayden Shea wait to see how far their pom pom will go after they launch it from their catapult.
B.D. Gullett Elementary fifth graders Luis Mahiquez, George Rasskazov, Landon Proffitt and Mario Reyes watch their pom pom carry more than 9 feet.
Dana Townson, the Inspiring Elementary Engineering Lab teacher at Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary, takes a selfie with fifth graders Symian Porter and Phillip Gutek, who scored the longest distance among McNeal teams.
Robert E. Willis Elementary fifth graders Clayton Medford, Kylie West, Landon Cuervo and Cody Alpert are proud of their catapult.
Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary fifth graders Marla Brunner and Noah Jackson wait for the go-ahead to start the distance portion of the competition. Brunner says she loved participating in the Catapult Challenge.
Gene Witt Elementary fifth graders Ryker Gordon and Yohmaris Terrero celebrate after Colton Smith scores 40 points for the team.
William H. Bashaw Elementary fourth grader Ava Fieber and fifth graders Jayden Shea and Eliora Ross work together to make changes to their catapult in hopes of greater success.
Gene Witt Elementary teacher Tom Brugos celebrates with Luciano Giallembardo, Emma Doyle, Noah Pelett and Liam Bralsand on their second place win for longest distance.
Gene Witt Elementary fifth graders Ryker Gordon, Yohmaris Terrero and Colton Smith watch in anticipation as their pom pom rolls down the mat past 4 feet.
Gilbert W. McNeal Elementary fifth grader Marla Brunner waits for her teammate, Noah Jackson, to launch the catapult. Jackson says it was fun to test their catapult and make changes before competing and seeing their scores.
Tara Elementary fifth grader Makenna Hutchinson prepares the catapult while fifth graders Kaylani Roney and Annalise Jacobson cheer for her.
Willis Elementary fifth graders Cody Alpert, Kylie West and Clayton Medford watch as their teammate Landon Cuervo uses their catapult to launch a pom pom as far as possible.
Gene Witt Elementary fifth graders Ryker Gordon, Colton Smith and Yohmaris Terrero poured the bag of supplies onto the ground and spread it around so they could see everything.
They had a small block of wood, popsicle sticks, rubber bands, a paint stir and more.
Their team, along with dozens of others from 19 other School District of Manatee County schools, had 90 minutes on Oct. 15 at Palm View K-8 School in Palmetto to figure out how to use the supplies to create a catapult. They couldn't prepare for the district's Catapult Challenge before that day because the supplies were a surprise.
Smith said having to create the catapult was stressful. He and his teammates had trouble coming up with ideas at first, but once they decided to use the block of wood as a weight to ensure their catapult wouldn't lift from the ground, they were on a roll.
"It turned out well," Terrero said. "It's hard when you don't know what's coming, and I felt nervous about the competition, but it was cool to be able to participate.
East County teams from Gene Witt, Robert E. Willis, B.D. Gullett, Tara, William H. Bashaw and Gilbert W. McNeal elementary schools also participated in the Catapult Challenge.
Once teams finished their initial construction of their catapults, they were able to test them and make modifications.
Catapults were tested for distance and accuracy.
