Boyd-Buchanan students Nathaniel Hargrove, Haley Boggs and Will Agne, from left, prepare their apparatus before they compete in the school's ninth annual Physics and Trebuchet and Catapult Competition on Thursday.
Boyd-Buchanan students Seth Caudle, Kale Langley and Sarah Joseph, from left, pose with their device before they compete in the school's ninth annual Physics and Trebuchet and Catapult Competition on Thursday.Seventeen students at Boyd-Buchanan School lined up on the football field making last minute adjustments to their homemade trebuchets, catapults and ballistas on Thursday afternoon.
"Lengthen that string by three inches," one student ordered.
"Drill that tighter!" another shouted.
"Where is our tape measure?" one teammate asked another.
The students had spent the last several weeks constructing these medieval-style weapons as a part of their physics class, and the clock was counting down to the start of the ninth annual Physics Trebuchet and Catapult Competition.
The six teams were preparing to go to battle -- or at least compete to see who could launch a neon yellow softball the farthest.
Jason Owens, the physics teacher who started the competition when he began teaching at his alma mater, said the competition has "become a rite of passage for students."
Owens said the kids, who are divided into six teams, research and build their own trebuchet variations outside of class time. He only helps tweak their projects, which count as a test grade.
"The kids learn a lot from being hands-on," Owens said. "I started doing this competition because I wished I had one when I was in school."
The competition rules were easy: throw the ball forward, the farther the better; no explosives or live animals; and each construction had to be handmade by the students.
Before the competition began, team Operation Ewoki Freedom was confident they would win with their more-than-10-foot-tall wooden trebuchet. But four team members weren't sure if they would be able to set the school record, which required them to throw a softball more than 103 yards.
"Other teams use mechanics in their construction," said senior Jacob Gambrell. "We use brute force. ... There is a lot of muscle power in this thing."
Team Operation Ewoki Freedom built their trebuchet over a week ago, decided on Sunday that they didn't like its construction and started over from scratch.
On Thursday the boys, dressed as Star Wars Jedis and holding light sabers, launched their first softball.
One boy held a rope, which pulled back the swinging arm in the center of the structure. This arm was weighted on one end and had a sling on the other. As the boy released the rope, the arm swung with a swish and smoothly released the ball from the sling.
Then came the sound of cheering as the school record shattered: 110 yards.
The next throw went 127 yards, to even louder cheers from teachers, students and parents.
The boys secured victory, but were disappointed that part of their structure was bent in the final launch.
"We need to fix it before we use it again," Jacob Gambrell said. "We are going to throw pumpkins with this thing next."
Contact staff writer Kendi Anderson at kendi.anderson@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6592.