UT – Tyler’s Concrete Canoe Team and their 9th place finish at Nationals
August 2024
Author(s): Esther Fajardo & Hannah McGinnis
The University of Texas at Tyler Concrete Canoe Team worked diligently in order to produce “The Tyler Rose,” also known as Rosie. Rosie placed 1st regionally, and 9th at a national level. This year’s leadership focused on team dynamics, legacy, and technical aspects of the competition
The team began designing and recruiting in September. Team leadership resulted in the largest officer team in UT Tyler history, with responsibilities being divided out into 10 positions. Each Captain focused on a different aspect of the project: Fajardo led mix design, McGinnis led structural analysis, and Perez facilitated the construction effort. This team of Captains also coordinated the efforts of 7 officers. The officer team was divided out with each officer’s specific interests and skills in mind. Beyond the initial Officer group, some members put in elevated levels of effort; therefore, creating the need for a new type of officer role: technicians. Technicians were defined by their interest and hard work. Ultimately, the team was made up of 24 students across 4 different majors: Civil Engineering (CE), Construction Engineering (CONE), Construction Management (CM), and (a first) Business Management (BM).
The chosen theme for this year was Tyler, TX. The exterior of the canoe was covered in a colorful pattern of roses, created from integrally pigmented concrete, which paid tribute to Tyler, TX as the former Rose Capital. The theme continued to the inside of the hull, where a brick street was stained and dremeled down in order to create a brick-and-mortar texture. Iconic Tyler buildings from all throughout the city were stained up the gunwales. Additionally, three-dimensional concrete roses were incorporated atop the canoe’s bulkheads. The entire canoe, including aesthetics, was created from a single concrete mix design. The final product, Rosie, weighed-in at 348 lbs and was 19 feet in length.
At regional competition, the team took 1st place Overall through success in several categories. 1st Place in Technical Presentation was accomplished thanks to Mattern, McGinnis, Mobbs, and Rios. 2nd Place in Project Proposal was achieved due to contributions from Gentry, McGinnis, Fajardo, Stewart, and Mobbs. 1st Place in Final Product was spearheaded by Perez, McMillan, Ortiz-Reyes, and Suarez. Additionally, massive effort was taken by the entire team to ensure that all elements were built and decorated on theme. This was capped off by a perfect sweep on the water. Led by Hosch, the paddling team (Mobbs, Schumacher, McGinnis, and Mesa) finished 1st in all races competed: Men’s Sprint, Women’s Sprint, Coed Sprint.
After a fantastic year, the team was able to celebrate by heading to the Society-wide competition, hosted by BYU in Provo, UT. UT Tyler placed 9th Overall, setting a new record as the first Texas region school to place in the top 10 at nationals in consecutive years.
This year’s Captains are very proud of the team they leave behind as they graduate. The team is incredibly thankful to all of their advisors and sponsors, as success would not have been attainable without them.
Captains:
Esther Fajardo (CE, Sr.)
Hannah McGinnis (CE, Sr.)
Gerardo Perez (CE, Sr.)
Officers: Samuel Gentry (CE, Sr.)
Chandler Hosch (CE, Sr.)
Mason Mattern (CONE, Soph.)
Christopher McMillan (CE, Jr.)
Caleb Mobbs (CE, Jr.)
Luis Ortiz-Reyes (CE, Sr.)
Dominic Patronella (CE, Jr.)
Keagan Rios (CE, Sr.)
Clayton Stewart (BM, Sr.)
Angel Suarez (CE, SR.)
Team Members:
Ana Gay Mesa (CE, Jr.)
Ernesto Colorado (CE, Sr.)
Jason Carranza (CE, Soph.)
Javier Garcia (CE, Sr.)
Kristofer Niere (CM, Jr.)
Manuel Salazar (CE, Sr.)
Pierce Cole (CM, Soph.)
Sahara Coultas (CE, Sr.)
Si Schumacher (CE, Jr.)
Steven Luna (CE, Sr.)
Taylor Barton (CE, Sr.)
