Female car design team takes the cake

FRANKLIN — Four Franklin Borough School students received first-place medals in both the Students’ Choice Award and Artistic Merit categories at the Northeast Regional Junior Solar Sprint race held in Springfield, Mass., this year. They were chosen from among the top 110 teams from 10 states by both the judges and the students. Rheana Lipscomb, Kaitlyn VanDyk, Justine Dignardi and Roxana Salas make up the team called the Sundae Sweets. The girls worked for months planning, designing, building, testing and modifying their model solar car during their enrichment class led by their teacher Steve Sandor to get it ready to compete in the race. The race is organized in New Jersey by Transoptions, which sponsors the race each year to raise awareness about alternative energy sources. The Sweets qualified to move on at the county level race held in Newton, by taking third-place for their innovative design. They moved on again at the state level race in Morristown by placing fourth in the craftsmanship category and first in the Students’ Choice category. The team continued to impress students and judges alike in Massachusetts, with their innovative design.