YSU team takes second in state competition

A team of students from the Youngstown State University Civil and Construction Engineering Technology program placed second in the 2023 Ohio Contractors Association Estimating Competition.

The team of six students competed in a two-day competition against 11 other Ohio universities. Finishing behind only the team from Case Western Reserve University, the second-place finish is the best finish ever for a YSU team.

YSU’s team was made up of students Ryan Bedlion, Aryonna Bowser, TJ Danley, Mason Kotanchek, Sidney Laughner and Isaac Smith and was led by associate professor, Joseph Sanson

Teams are given a construction project they are to create an estimate for and are given most of the day to work on their estimate. Once the bids are submitted, the judges open and evaluate the bids to see which bids are responsive and the results are read to the teams. The team closest to the estimate provided by the actual contractor that constructed the project is given choice of what time they will present their estimate to the judges the next day. Each team is given points in several categories, the main category being the presentation.

For the presentation, each team is given 15 minutes to present to the judges and 15 minutes for the judges to ask the team members questions. The winning team is determined based on a responsive bid on Friday and the points accumulated from the other categories.

Other universities competing in this year’s competition included Bowling Green State University, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio University, The Ohio State University, University of Akron, University of Cincinnati, University of Dayton and University of Toledo.