A trio of Blackman High School students individually placed in the Top 5 of a regional bridge building competition at Vanderbilt University.

Addison Pounders (pictured above) was second, while Izzy Howell was fourth and Brandon Rogers was fifth. The students were part of three physics and conceptual physics classes from Blackman. Other schools participating in the regional competition included Cane Ridge, Overton and Portland.

Pounders advanced to an international competition taking place April 6 in Baltimore, Maryland.

A BEP mini-grant was used to purchase wood, glue and cutters needed by the students, according to Gayle Dawson, who is a physics and bridge math instructor at Blackman.