Triad High School Additive Manufacturing Team wins third place, $2,500, and new 3D printer at national competition

Triad High School's Additive Manufacturing Team, led by Dr. Andy Brendel and comprising sophomore Caden Meier and juniors Chase Gregory, Owen Litteken, and Jack Burrelsman, secured third place at The Project MFG Additive Manufacturing National Competition in Texas. The team earned a $2,500 cash prize and a new 3D printer for the school. They previously won the regional qualifier at Saint Louis University in February 2026. The competition included teams from a Texas technical school and first-place finisher West Virginia University, which fielded college juniors and seniors.

This result is notable for the AM industry's talent pipeline. High school teams competing at a national level against university students signals that AM education is moving earlier into STEM curricula. The Project MFG competition format — which tests practical design-for-additive-manufacturing skills, machine operation, and problem-solving under time constraints — mirrors the real-world qualification and production challenges that define industrial AM adoption. Triad's performance, particularly against older competitors, suggests that structured AM training at the secondary level can produce job-ready skills, addressing a persistent industry bottleneck: the shortage of technicians and engineers fluent in AM workflows.

For the broader AM ecosystem, this is a small but concrete data point in the workforce development debate. The practical takeaway is that programs like Project MFG are creating measurable skill benchmarks. Schools considering AM curriculum investments now have a reference point: a high school team with limited resources can achieve national-level proficiency. The new printer will directly expand Triad's hands-on capacity, which is the most effective training tool available.