College horticulturists lend skills to Baja competition site

With Baja SAE Williamsport fast approaching, a dedicated crew from Penn College General Services has spent several hours working at the event’s location: the Heavy Construction Equipment Operations Site in Brady Township. 

Chad L. Karstetter, horticulturist/grounds & motor pool manager; Joel D. Steppe, assistant horticulturist/grounds & motor pool manager; Brooke M. Barton, horticulturist; and Alyssa R. McGraw, horticulturist, have cut down potentially dangerous limbs and dead trees to protect participants and spectators at the competition, scheduled for May 16-19. 

The college is expecting 108 teams – representing 34 states, Canada and Brazil – at the massive event that requires students to design, manufacture and build a single-seat, off-road car to survive several performance tests.

The marquee test is a four-hour endurance race over a rugged 1.1-mile course. Seth J. Welshans, diesel equipment technology faculty, and John G. Upcraft, instructor of manufacturing and machining and the faculty adviser for the Penn College Baja SAE team, are entering the final stages of refining the course, built in part by students from the Service Technicians & Operators’ Association.