Break out more confetti and prepare the already-crowded trophy case. The University of Florida has won another national title.
Less than a month after UF’s Eckhoff Steel Bridge Team made history by capturing its fifth consecutive national title, another UF civil engineering team paddled its way to its fifth national title (four in the last six years).
With a gator-laden vessel dubbed Reptilia, UF’s concrete canoe team narrowly won first overall at last weekend’s 38th annual ASCE Concrete Canoe Competition at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo. Virginia Tech placed second by less than a point, followed by Western Kentucky University, Texas A&M University and Université Laval.
“We all went crazy. I’ll remember that experience forever.”
Brennan Kade
“The races were quite intense,” said the team’s co-project manager, Alicia DeMicco, a senior majoring in civil engineering. “We were a little nervous.”
Upon hearing they had won, UF team members jumped to their feet at the banquet, screamed, hugged and, of course, did the Gator Chomp.
“We all went crazy,” said the team’s co-project manager, Brennan Kade, a third-year civil engineering student. “I’ll remember that experience forever.”
The American Society of Civil Engineers’ concrete canoe championship ran June 27–29, hosting 19 qualifying schools and more than 180 institutions across North America and China.
UF also scored big in the sub-categories, taking first place in the coed race, second in the men’s sprint, second in best technical proposal and best technical presentation, fourth in the women’s slalom, third in the women’s sprint and fourth in best final product.
“With concrete canoe winning four of the last six national championships and steel bridge securing five consecutive national titles, our students continue to prove that they are among the very best in the country – and the world,” said Taylor Rawlinson, Ph.D., the team’s faculty adviser and director of the Weil Hall Structures & Materials Laboratory.
“These results reflect the strength of our academic program, our focus on experiential learning and our commitment to developing industry-ready engineers.”
Designed, built and powered by UF engineering students from multiple disciplines, Reptilia, Rawlinson said, is fast, efficient and visually stunning. It is covered by a detailed mural accented by glowing gator eyes.
But Reptilia’s most striking feature is the 3D alligator cresting inside the canoe at the paddlers’ feet. Look closely, and you will notice a python wrapped around the gator, a nod toward the delicate struggle between Florida’s native and non-native species.
The canoes are made from thin layers of concrete and carbon fiber. Teams must balance the weight of construction materials with performance in the water and turning agility, testing the limits of the materials.
Known as America’s Cup of Civil Engineering, the ASCE competition combines precise engineering, hydrodynamic design and racing technique. America’s Cup also hosts several other engineering events, but the concrete canoes are the flagship competitions.
The 2025 UF concrete canoe team members are Kade, DeMicco, Aiden Kittelson, Keegan Wittke, Grayson Loyless, Senuki Perera, Joel Mass, Thomas Raffenberg, Zelli Pych, Ginger Arnold, Fatima Arroliga, Ashton Dampier, Juliette Holder, Markella Stavrinakis, Matheus Broder, Taylor Nestel, Emily Einheit, Austin Edwards, Carson Edwards, Darius Lee, Emma Baumann, Emily Steyer-Mader, Kyle Keene, Kate Pollard, Mariana Templeton, Maddie Foster, Audrey Hunt, Sophia Maldonado, Gabriella Zweier and Max Milder.