Make48 Crowns Student Teams at UW-Stout Polytechnic Competition
MENOMONIE, WI (August 13, 2026) — From July 31 to August 2, the campus of UW-Stout Polytechnic was buzzing with students from across the Midwest. These young minds brought their endless creativity, hands-on problem-solving skills, and a heavy dose of determination as middle and high school students gathered for the latest Make48 competition.
In just 48 hours, 9 talented teams of young entrepreneurs took on a real-world design challenge, transforming their ideas into functional physical prototypes under a super-tight deadline.
The Challenge: The Future of Fast Food Innovation
Fast food moves quickly, but fast-food technology needs to move faster.
Teams were tasked with designing a physical product aimed at improving the customer experience at food counters and eateries across five target areas:
Drive-Thru Experience
Food Packaging
Condiments & Beverage Solutions
Dining On-the-Go
Restaurant Cleanliness
Working with the expert industry mentors from the Wisconsin region, focus group leaders, and tool techs, the students pushed their problem-solving skills to the limit to tackle the restaurant industry and the challenges that come with it.
The Winners
After one weekend of design, fabrication, and pitch preparation, the teams presented their solutions to an esteemed panel of judges: UW-Stout Chancellor Katherine Frank, Ryan Schwoch (Red Wing Shoe Company), and Michael Dehne (Culver's).
While every team brought inspiring ideas to the table, two teams stood out on top:
1st Place: The Bears – White Bear Lake Area (MN)
2nd Place: Architecting The Mastery – Cotter Schools (Winona, MN)
A huge round of applause goes out to all 9 competing teams who poured their energy and passion into this competition
EIK from Fall River, WI (Isaiah DeLeon, Eli Christian, Keelan Tipton, Ryan Christian)
The Graduates from Beloit Memorial H.S., Beloit, WI (Arthur Duffy, Abraham Almaraz-Quiroz, Josue Farias)
S.W.A.T 1806 from Smithville High School, Smithville, MO (Johnny D. Viebrock, Jacob Hutchings, Sam Hunter)
Doc's K-pop Collection from Homestead High School, Fort Wayne, IN (Don E Lines, Jasroop Kaur, Nolan Delaney, Meleah Hatch)
The Synchronizers from Spring Garden Middle School, St. Joseph, MO (Stephanie Lyle, JaeLa Hogan, Alex Arroyo-Ruiz, Trevan Hoffman, Isabella Feiden-Shaw)
Golda R² from Golda Meir School, Milwaukee, WI (Tina Gleason, Renad Kabashi, Retal Kabashi)
Loose Screws from Parkview Middle School, WI (Corey Hansen, Owen Delmont, Jaxson Greve, Hugo Henderson)
The Bears from White Bear Lake Area, MN (Eric Olson, Logan Blalock, Ben Bower, Jack Firkus)
Architecting The Mastery from Cotter Schools, Winona, MN (Eric Paulsen, Jack Slaggie, Jaxson Greshik, Brielle Staudacher)
Powered by Industry Experts & Volunteers
Events like Make48 wouldn't be possible without the incredible community of mentors, volunteers, and tool techs who guide teams through fabrication and business logic.
Mentors, VIPs and focus group members came far and wide to support the students. Here is just a short list of those who helped guide the teams – Bruce Holzmann, Megan Boldig, and Brian Elwood (Xcel Energy); Joel Watson (Red Wing Shoes); Angela Gulotta (Vivayic), and Seth Hudson (UW-Stout Polytechnic).
An amazing group of experts supported the teams with their prototyping and created the OUTSTANDING trophy that everyone wanted to get their hands on. Big thanks to Mike Cropp, Madi Klaja, Jackson Killinger, Thomas Shamla and Kate Liu (UW-Stout Polytechnic); Tyler Isaacs, Carson Honeycutt, Steve Howard, and Diego Guzman. As well as our industry experts; Trimble – Chris Brashar and Donovan Ewing, Makerbot/UltiMaker – Giovanni Rossini, ShopBot Tools – Chris Burns and IP Attorney, Chris DeBacker (Avek IP).
Finally a special thank-you to our year-round sponsors – including Fastenal, Dynamism, Thunder Laser, Carhartt, Bodyguard, Quantum Coffee Roasters – and our host venue UW-Stout Polytechnic for making this final regional competition of Season 10 a gigantic success.
Next month the winning teams will face their competitors in Kansas City at Nationals to take home $10,000 and the title of Season 10 Champion. Who will it be? Stay tuned to find out.
Visit the official event page at https://www.make48.com/2026-uw-stout to learn more.
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It's fantastic to read about the innovation coming from these young minds, especially with such a demanding 48-hour deadline for fast-food solutions. The range of focus areas, from drive-thru improvements to cleanliness, really pushed their creativity. It makes you wonder how their ideas might even influence the design of future dining spaces where people could perhaps even enjoy some unblocked games 66. Congratulations to all the teams! 👏
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