Students from Ridgewood’s Grover Cleveland High School dominated the 2017 Citywide Regional Bridge Building Contest, winning the championship for a record ninth consecutive year, and taking the top seven spots in the contest.
The contest took place on Saturday, April 1, at John Bowne High School in Flushing, where Grover Cleveland’s Shafiqur Khan became the citywide champion for his impressive bridge building abilities.
Khan’s bridge weighed in at 20.5 grams, and was able to withstand an astonishing 47.4 kilos — or 104 pounds — before finally succumbing to the weight. The amazing structure was able to hold 2,312 times its own weight.
Khan will now advance to the International competition in Dallas, Texas, on April 22.
Earning second place was Saiman Tamang, the third place winner was Mingmar Tamang, while Suraksha Khadka brought home fourth place, and coming in fifth place was Asia Tandon, all from Grover Cleveland. The Ridgewood high school also had Harold Rojas, Jeevan Bastola, Angel Gonzalez, Priyanka Rana, Natasha Paulino, Ankit Bhandari, Anith Devkota, Bishan Rayamaji, and Dawa Sherpa all place in the competition, solidifying Grover Cleveland as the city’s top bridge building school.
These impressive victories come on the heels of last year’s first place finish by Grover Cleveland High School student Abrar Hussain at the 2016 International Bridge Building Contest in Chicago, Illinois.
Bridge building, however, isn’t the only area Grover Cleveland students have excelled recently.
The Grover Cleveland High School Science Olympiad Team won six medals across five different events at the 2017 Citywide Science Olympiad this past February.
