The four-member team won the world's largest rocket contest after spending months designing, building and test launching their model rocket. The Team America Rocketry Challenge kicked off last September with 669 teams from across the nation vying for a chance to compete among the top 100 qualifying teams at the finals held outside of Washington, D.C.

"In preparation for the national finals, we analyzed our data and adjusted our rocket as we repeatedly test launched," said Brendan Stoeckl, Penn Manor High School team member. "We anticipated some wind and increased afternoon temperatures, and made just the right adjustments to bring home the victory."

The first place team logged the winning score of 26.32. Each point represents a deviation from altitude and time aloft targets, so the lower the score, the better. Marticville Middle School from Pequea, Penn., took second place with a score of 30.65, while Bob Jones High School from Madison, Ala., placed third with a score of 31.02.

The first and second place teams belong to the same rocket club, Penn Manor Rocket Club, and were mentored by Brian Osmolinski. Osmolinski, a physics teacher and director of the rocket club, helped mentor four teams to the national finals. Members of the winning Penn Manor High School team are: Brendan Stoeckl, Jordan Franssen, Nate Bernhardt, and Tyler Funk, who are all 12th graders.

This year, student teams were challenged to design, build and launch a model rocket to an altitude of 825 feet with a flight time of 40-45 seconds, as well as return a raw egg payload to the ground unbroken without a parachute.

The contest, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry, is intended to spark students' interest in aerospace careers and in science, technology, engineering and mathematics - or STEM - college degree programs. Almost 60 percent of the U.S. aerospace workforce is 45 or older and beginning to retire in large numbers, according to AIA statistics.

Scott C. Donnelly, AIA chairman and president and CEO of Textron Inc., noted how TARC has proven to be a great success in attracting young people to consider careers in aerospace and advancing their studies in STEM fields.

"The enthusiasm these talented students brought was truly electric," Donnelly said. "The teams not only come away with a real aerospace product after months of hands-on trial and error, but also demonstrate a keen understanding of the fundamentals of rocketry using physics, math and teamwork. We also had the pleasure of welcoming back TARC alumni who, as rising stars in the industry, are a testament to the success of the program in inspiring the next generation of aerospace innovators."

The Penn Manor High School team wins a trip to the Farnborough International Air Show in July, sponsored for the fifth year by Raytheon Company, a major supporter of the competition and will compete against the UK and French national champions in the International Youth Rocketry Challenge. The winning team shares a prize pool of more than $60,000 with other top finishers.

Lockheed Martin Corporation provides $5,000 scholarships to each of the top three teams, and the top 20 teams also will receive an invitation from NASA to participate in its Student Launch Initiative, an advanced rocketry program. Other sponsors include the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics Teachers and AIA member companies.

AIA created the Team America Rocketry Challenge in 2003 to celebrate the centennial of flight and to generate interest in aerospace careers among young people. Since its inception, more than 50,000 youth have participated in the contest.

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