HELENA — From the basketball court to the football field, the crosstown rivalry between Helena High and Capital High goes back decades. When these two schools come together the competition is always fierce, even when it's AP Physics students.
“Well, we got a little physics boat competition here, we have teams from both Helena High and Capital High, all came down to Spring Meadow Lake to see if their cardboard boat can float,” said Brandon Day, Helena High AP Physics teacher and Bengals Boys Basketball head coach.
On Wednesday morning, Day’s AP Physics classes from Helena High would go to "war" with DeLacy Humbert's AP Physics classes out of Capital High.
The teachers say this fun-filled project is an opportunity for seniors to finish up their high school careers in a unique way as they prepare for graduation this weekend. Although these AP students have been working on their boats for nearly two weeks.
“(We) had a few that had to shove them into their car and do some repairs when they got here today, but it’s a fun project that all the kids get into and they do a really nice job,” added Day.
The clash on Spring Meadow Lake was no easy feat as DeLacy clarified.
“It is Crosstown, so there is that brief rivalry, and for me, it’s really great to see kids have pride in what they do and, in their school, and in their community,” she said.
Day and Humbert happened to graduate from Helena High School and now get the chance to work alongside one another in the same town where they received their high school diplomas.
“It’s fun to come back to Helena and do something fun like this, for the community,” stated Day.
The juniors and seniors out on the lake seemed to agree.
“I’m feeling great honestly, I feel like, even with the crosstown rivalry and stuff, I feel like a lot of my joy comes from just being proud in our design and how we did,” said Killian Humbert, who will be heading to Montana State next fall to study chemical engineering, specifically with a focus on aerospace. “So, one of our main concerns when we were designing our boat, was just the structural integrity of cardboard and just how we are supposed to make that float on the water and not, just flood."
Humbert's future goals consist of building NASA rockets or space probes. He emphasized how cardboard doesn't always make for the best naval success.
“Obviously, cardboard isn’t the best material to build a boat out of, (and) working with a team is, really important for designing anything, honestly. It’s a crucial part of the engineering process, you can’t really just build something on your own and then expect it to work perfectly,” added Humbert.
Humbert's teammate and fellow senior Henry Lay sailed the one-man craft around the lake.
“At first, it was pretty relaxing actually, I know that there were a lot of people attacking other boats and getting out of their boat, so I just kind of avoided people,” Lay said about their strategy going into the water.
This is the first crosstown AP Physics Boat-Battle for Bengals senior Jeri Wilkerson who will be attending the University of Minnesota next fall to continue to study chemical engineering.
“What we did, is we got three big, thick cardboard tubes, and then we taped them together in a triangle shape and then did a flat square on top of it, with some walls to help support it,” explained Wilkerson.
Wilkerson did not sail her team’s ship, but she helped facilitate from the shores.
“I think if nothing else, that we win for carrying capacity. We’re out there, we started with one, and we’ve gained a couple (persons) along the way, we have had to bail it out using the squirt guns a little bit, but it’s still going strong,” Wilkerson said.
Helena High senior Maya Goetz was also in the water with her team’s anonymous boat.
“We made it off the shore, which is pretty good,” joked Goetz, who will be taking her talents to MSU this fall where she plans to study architecture, “Physics is a really like, kind of complicated class, but I feel like it’s going to set me up for (learning) architecture.”
Though the Bengals had one of the final five boats left out on the lake Wednesday morning, Killian and Lay would finish in second place with their boat the "S.S. Corrugator." Their fellow Bruins Dane Butler, Gabe Fischer, Trey Mosman, Isaac Ramirez and Brielle Heller and their boat the "U.S.S. Barbershop" would be the last boat standing. Or in this case, floating.
The winning sailors credited their defensive strategy as well as their teacher, Humbert, for their success.
“She really allows us to be ourselves, and just let our ideas flow,” said Heller.
“Yeah, when we brought up the bubble wrap idea, she was like, no one’s ever done it before, but you’re welcome to try it and then here we are, so it worked,” added Mosman.
Dane Bulter, who will be returning to AP physics for his senior year highlighted, “Next year, three years in a row, yeah, we’re coming back (next year), we want it again.”
This end-of-the-semester assignment is proof that both schools, although they are in the same town, will even use science to try and best one another, no matter the setting, in friendly competition.
“It’s a good time to have them show us what they can do, and not just on paper,” said Humbert.
