Mathews High School alums and University of Virginia Civil Engineering students Matt Taylor and Joice Small hold their team’s first-place trophy from the Environmental and Water Resources Competition at the American Society of Civil Engineers 2024 Student Symposium held this past weekend at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Taylor, Small and teammate and UVA student Claire Sharp gathered water quality data from Claytor Lake, and wrote a winning paper about their predictions for the lake’s water quality at the end of the summer. Taylor, a former rower for MHS, also served as the fitness captain for UVA’s “Row-Tunda” second-place entry in the Concrete Canoe Competition. The competition consists of canoe body design, concrete formulation, a technical report and presentation, as well as tests of the students’ athleticism and endurance as they paddle through sprints and a slalom race course. The race is often referred to as the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering.” Small and Taylor are also alu...