Brilliant minds: Pocatello students take first in their category in solar car challenge

POCATELLO — After months of activity constructing their ain star vehicle, a group of Pocatello students took first spot successful a trial of their car’s durability.

Chris Ulland, 18, Logan Friesen, 18, and Krystof Oresky, 17, were nan 3 members of Russet American Racing who attended nan 2024 Solar Car Challenge successful Fort Worth, Texas, and won first spot successful nan classical division. This was nan first twelvemonth that students from Pocatello participated. They were nan only squad from Idaho to compete this year, and they were nan 2nd squad ever to suffice pinch only 3 attending members.

“It was conscionable unthinkable (winning) arsenic a rookie squad pinch 3 members,” Ulland said.

Logan Friesen, Chris Ulland and Krystof Oresky (left to right) clasp their awards. | Courtesy Lisa Ulland

Initially, nan squad wasn’t moreover definite that they would beryllium competitive.

“We benignant of went into nan title conscionable hoping to make it onto nan way and beryllium capable to get immoderate laps,” Friesen said.

The Russets began readying and processing their car astatine nan opening of nan schoolhouse year, and started building it successful nan 2nd semester.

“Throughout nan year, we ever felt for illustration we were behind,” Ulland said. “We weren’t getting things done arsenic quickly arsenic we wanted to. We were moving retired of time.”

The squad tested their conveyance connected June 15, which turned retired to put them up of astir of nan different teams.

“We talked to immoderate teams, and they were still moving connected it erstwhile we sewage to nan competition. Most of them hadn’t moreover driven their car before,” Ulland said.

In bid to triumph nan race, teams had to attraction connected completing arsenic galore laps arsenic imaginable complete nan people of 4 days of racing. The Russets started nan title pinch a ample lead, completing 93 laps compared to nan adjacent closest squad astatine 68 laps.

The squad raced from July 14 to July 17, yet completing 305 laps.

While nan Russets weren’t nan fastest squad connected nan Texas Motor Speedway, acknowledgment to nan activity they put successful months earlier nan competition, they didn’t person to extremity arsenic often arsenic different teams.

“Being capable to enactment connected nan way and support getting laps down, I deliberation that goes a batch further than possibly moving a fewer miles an hr faster,” Friesen said.

Ulland and Friesen person some graduated from Grace Lutheran High School this twelvemonth and scheme to be assemblage for mechanical engineering, and Oresky has returned to his location successful nan Czech Republic aft his speech twelvemonth successful Pocatello.

While nan 3 won’t beryllium competing pinch Russet American Racing adjacent year, nan squad itself will continue, perchance pinch different students from Pocatello, Highland and Century High Schools.

Both Uland and and Friesen offered proposal to early competitors.

“Test it, and support it simple,” Ulland advised. “If you tin support it elemental and make it work, that’s going to prevention you truthful overmuch time. The truth that we knew it was gonna activity meant that we didn’t person to hole things down there.”

“It’s important to break things down into a very manageable size,” Friesen said. “It makes it a batch much manageable, and you’re capable to support moving forward. You gotta support that momentum going to beryllium capable to decorativeness nan project.”