LOVELOCK - Applying their studies in projectile motion to the world outside the classroom, the 19 Pershing County High School seniors enrolled in Valdine McLean's year-long physics course occupied Joe Yanni Field last Monday afternoon to sling pumpkins against a backdrop of appropriate music, either Halloween-related or dramatically orchestral.
Five teams, attired according to each one's name, lined up trebuchets, some newly-constructed, some re-furbished, just beyond the south end zone. The trebuchet, a type of catapult and the siege engine-of-choice in the Middle Ages, makes use of the potential energy stored in an elevated counterweight. Upon releasing the weight's energy, an opposite arm arcs vertically to hurl the pumpkin. Or so it should.
One group, "Prestige Worldwide," including triggerman "Bubba" Kincheloe, Alaynah Meredith, Libby Rodriguez and Dillon Wanner, experienced counterweight issues and were browbeaten to the point where members eventually resorted to manual pumpkin propulsion.
At the other end of the spectrum, the "Goddesses of the Trebuchet," including Erica Daigneault, Katie Gentry, Lety Jimenez and trigger-woman Cassie Schneider, and the "Angry Birds," featuring Jessica Chandler, Claudia Dennler, Kalynne Mitchell and trigger-woman Grace Moreira, had spectacular success, both plunking their target "banner" twice. (It must be noted that the Goddesses limited themselves to a smaller target. "We wanted to challenge ourselves," pronounced Daigneault.)
The two teams also matched each other in the distance competition, with throws of 85 yards. In addition to earning "bragging rights," the winners will have their names engraved on two revolving trophies.
Rounding out the field were the "Mad Scientists," including Mayra Madrigal, Kyle Schmith, Robert Shirley and Erika Terry, and the "Bumbling Idiots," featuring Alonso Dominguez, Sergio Gonzalez and Marcus Tippens.
Monies collected through sponsorship of an individual, a team or the class as a whole are used to fund the annual Physics Trip to the Bay Area. Early next April, according to McLean, the students will "experience physics" at the amusement park and ballpark, conduct research for a final thesis project at San Francisco's Exploratorium and make historical visits both to Alcatraz Island and the California Academy of Sciences which houses a giant natural history museum, tropical rain forest, aquarium, "living roof" and large planetarium.
"This was our 14th year for the contest," noted McLean. "The first year, we went to Lowry High School under the direction of Jim Blattman, a fine physics teacher-mentor who helped me to develop the current program and other engaging projects. By the next year, we science teachers across northern Nevada envisioned a giant, annual I-80 competition, but we could never get it off the ground (so to speak!). More recently, we've kept it local and focused on different ways to make it interesting and fun for the students and the community at large."
It was back to the classroom and usual attire the following day, as the seniors were to calculate the height of their projectiles, the speed with which they left the trebuchets and the angle of release.
"Crunch time comes tomorrow," reminded McLean.
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