K-State Concrete Canoe takes 7th at nationals
Concrete Canoe team members Campbell Gaskill, Keegan Harris, Tyla Lang and Michael Dishman row Apidae, the canoe the team designed and built, at the Mid-America Student Symposium regional competition in Lincoln, Nebraska. | Download this photo.
By Grant Guggisberg
Carl R. Ice College of Engineering
Monday, Aug. 13, 2025
The Kansas State University Concrete Canoe team took seventh place in the concrete canoe competition at the Civil Engineering Student Championships hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers, held June 27-29 in San Luis Obispo, California.
The strong finish was the best showing at the national competition in club history, with an especially strong score in the canoe prototype competition, taking second. This was the club’s second straight year to compete at nationals and an improvement over last year’s 10th-place finish.
Hosted by California Polytechnic State University, the event challenged participants to create a functioning canoe made of concrete. The process includes designing a hull, performing structural analysis and designing a concrete mixture that satisfies the strength requirements found in the structural analysis. Teams are judged for their final product, design paper, oral presentation and race results. Races include men's and women's sprints and endurance races.
The K-State team earned the chance to compete in the national competition by winning at the Mid-America Student Symposium regional competition in April.
This year’s canoe, “Apidae,” was named for the largest family of bees and incorporated the theme into several design elements. The canoe’s exterior finish included dark brown and yellow colors to represent honey and natural wood tones. The final aesthetic design also featured a colored concrete honeycomb and wood grain inlay.
Abbi Clark, club president and senior in civil engineering, Wamego, said this year’s canoe is an improved version of last year’s segmented design.
“This year was about building upon last year’s strong foundation,” Clark said. “Last year, the team brought the first known multi-segmented, post-tensioned canoe to the student championships. This year we had the opportunity to continue pushing the envelope in ASCE concrete canoe with Apidae, a refined and improved version of last year’s canoe. She’s lighter, faster and a whole lot prettier.”
Kayleigh Bednar, senior in industrial engineering, Liberty, Missouri, said the team has changed for the better during her four-year stint.
“Expanding our team to students beyond engineering has proven to be an asset to our overall success,” Bednar said. “Not only does it allow for interdisciplinary collaboration, but our problem solving and creativity have grown over time. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished as a team.”
Several students and their professors pose for a group photo beside a lake and in front of the concrete canoe they designed and built.
Members of the 2024-2025 Concrete Canoe team include:
Ethan Holder, senior in construction science management, Andover; Thomas Moore, freshman in civil engineering, Carbondale; Keegan Harris, junior in construction science management, Columbus; Elle Dragone, senior in civil engineering, and Ally Hower, junior in architectural engineering, both from Council Grove; Sean Slattery, junior in civil engineering, Dodge City; Mason Lofton, sophomore in mechanical engineering, Kansas City; Campbell Gaskill, junior in math education, Lindsborg; Tyla Lang, sophomore in construction science management, McPherson; Carter France, senior in mechanical engineering, Olathe; Lindsay Schupp, senior in chemical engineering, Oskaloosa; Aaron Robertson, junior in chemical engineering, Prairie Village; Michael Dishman, junior in civil engineering, and Jenna Haas, junior in accounting, both from Pratt; Nathan Streeter, senior in civil engineering, Salina; Aidan Torrez, junior in construction science management, Spring Hill; Ian Schulz, senior in mechanical engineering, Tecumseh; Abbi Clark, senior in civil engineering, Wamego; Liliana Blaufuss, freshman in civil engineering, Westphalia; Zoe Harris, freshman in architectural engineering, Wichita.
From out of state: Kayleigh Bednar, senior in industrial engineering, Liberty, Missouri; Carson Beach, junior in civil engineering, Weatherby, Missouri; Cooper Willoughby, sophomore in chemical engineering, Bennington, Nebraska.