John Terry’s effort to find the sweetest apple his father can safely eat without spiking blood sugar earned him first place in the Clemson University South Carolina 4-H Engineering Challenge’s agri-science poster challenge competition.
Terry, of Abbeville County, was among more than 350 youth who competed in this year’s event in Columbia, South Carolina. The 4-H Engineering Challenge is an annual competition featuring seven events: bridge building, coding, visual arts, agriscience poster, mystery challenge, Lego robotics and rocketry.
The program is designed to increase students’ interest in STEM subjects by providing hands-on experiences.
For Terry’s experiment, his father, Adam, served as his test subject.
“My dad has diabetes and he likes to eat apples,” Terry said. “So, I wanted to find out which apples he could eat without spiking his blood sugar.”
Terry recorded data throughout the study and used a grocery store sweetness chart as a reference. He tested 10 apple varieties over 10 days to measure their effects on his father’s blood sugar levels.
The results showed Honeycrisp apples caused the highest spike, while Cosmic Crisp apples had the least impact.
Terry, who is homeschooled, completed the project as part of his science studies. His mother, Jessica Terry, said the project helped him learn how sugar in foods affects the human body and where apples are grown and sold.
“What he found is beneficial for my husband because it helps him know which apples he can eat,” she said. “And what he found from his study can help us as a family know which apples to shop for and where we can buy them.”
The agri-science poster challenge is a competition in which South Carolina 4-H’ers conduct experiments and present scientific posters that illustrate their results and the scientific principles associated with the experiment. Posters in this competition can also be about emerging technologies related to agriculture, food or natural resource systems.
Drew Fling, a Marion County student who competed in the rocketry challenge, said the experience was educational.
In this competition, 4-H’ers design, build and launch rockets. This exercise teaches them about aerospace, engineering and teamwork.
“It was fun learning about what makes rockets fly and what role shape plays,” Fling said. “Ours didn’t go far. It was a little too big.”
Victoria Turdo, of Chesterfield County, participated in the bridge-building challenge and said the competition highlighted areas for improvement.
In this competition, 4-H’ers use materials such as popsicle sticks, glue, or paper to design, construct and test bridges. These bridges must span a specific distance and support a maximum weight.
The 4-H’ers in this competition learn about engineering principles like load distribution and structural efficiency.
“I prepared before the competition, but next time I’ll be more prepared,” Turdo said. “I thought I knew how to build a bridge, but what I did didn’t work for me.”
Alana West, assistant program team director for the S.C. 4-H Youth Development Program, said the goal of the challenge is to prepare students for future careers.
“These challenges focus on the engineering design process, including defining the problem, researching, brainstorming, prototyping, testing and refining,” West said. “Real-life engineers use this process to design functional products and systems. Youth who participate in this competition report increased confidence and knowledge in science skills.”
The first Engineering Challenge was held in 2012.
It’s a mystery
Each year, 4-H’ers are introduced to a mystery challenge. This challenge is a team competition in which participants receive an engineering prompt on the day of the Engineering Challenge. They must then design and build a solution within a set time.
They have no prior knowledge, so they can’t prepare.
This challenge focuses on spontaneous engineering, teamwork and problem-solving.
Each year, South Carolina 4-H’ers are introduced to a different mystery challenge.
“This year, we decided to separate the juniors, ages 9 through 13, and seniors, ages 14 through 18, so that we could accommodate more teams,” West said. “Our theme was payloads.”
The juniors competed in the morning by designing watercraft capable of carrying payloads. The winning boat was determined by the largest number of weights carried before sinking.
The seniors competed in the afternoon by designing air vehicles capable of carrying payloads. Each plane had to carry a certain number of weights. The winner was determined by the plane that would fly the furthest inbounds.
“For this challenge, teams are given opportunities to test their designs so that they can adjust and make improvements,” West said. “All of this is part of the engineering design process.”
The other challenges also teach 4-H’ers engineering basics.
The coding challenge gives 4-H’ers an opportunity to demonstrate their programming skills. This competition involves using platforms like Micro:bit to solve computer engineering problems, foster computational thinking and develop real-world problem-solving skills.
The visual arts challenge integrates creativity with STEM concepts. 4-H’ers use diverse media such as photography or illustration to solve problems.
In the Lego robotics challenge, teams design, build and program robots to solve specific tasks. The teams compete in missions, often accompanied by technical presentations on their design, teamwork and, in some cases, community service projects.
Winners in the 2026 S.C. 4-H Engineering Challenge:
Visual Arts: Patterns in Nature
Cloverleaf Photograph (ages 9-11)
- 1st place – Newton Flores from Chester County
- 2nd place – Jude Pitts from Newberry County
- 3rd place – Kenneth Smith from Florence County
Cloverleaf Illustrations (ages9-11)
- 1st place – Kenneth Smith from Florence County
- 2nd place – Luna West from Aiken County
- 3rd place – John Terry from Abbeville County
Cloverleaf AI-Generated Artwork (ages 9-11)
- 1st place – Newton Flores from Chester County
- 2nd place – Abigail Aguilar from Marion County
- 3rd place – Jacob Glover from Marion County
Junior Photography (ages 12-13)
- 1st place – Lucy Grimaldi from Florence County
- 2nd place – Eleanor Burns from Anderson County
- 3rd place – Jase Simpson from York County
Junior Illustrations (ages 12-13)
- 1st place – Eleanor Burns from Anderson County
- 2nd place – Madelyn Garraux from Aiken County
- 3rd place – Abigail Catto from York County
Junior AI-Generated Artwork (ages 12-13)
- 1st place – Teagan Blair from Aiken County
- 2nd place – Romaine Davis from Spartanburg County
- 3rd place – Brayden Jarczynski from Horry County
Senior Photography (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Brayden Lorey from Horry County
- 2nd place – Benjamin Davis from Spartanburg County
- 3rd place – Lacey Tucker from Chester County
Senior Illustrations (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Ada Jarrett from Spartanburg County
- 2nd place – Lily Kate Rawls from Chester County
- 3rd place – Ivy Prince from Horry County
Senior AI-Generated Artwork (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Brayden Lorey from Horry County
- 2nd place – Alexander Hudson from York County
- 3rd place – Ivy Prince from Horry County
Junior Bridge (ages 9-13)
- 1st place – Michael Ridley, Rachael Ridley, Bella Schauer
- 2nd place – Andre Bruce, Dante Bruce
- 3rd place – Nora Snoots, Chloe Frappaolo, Eden Carvalho
- 4th place – Delilah Faulkenberry, Maci Widener, Camryn Hyslop, Holly Hope Garcia
- 5th place – Chloe Wolfe, Marley Rankin,
- 6th place – Carolina Ussery, Annsleigh Mobley, Ellie Cusannon, Malaya Gaston
Senior Bridge (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Clara Lyn Evans, Caroline Partain, Hobbs Lutz
- 2nd place – Klara Meahl, Kenna Kornelli
- 3rd place – Lucy Grimaldi, Daniel Grimaldi
- 4th place – Garland Wilson, Will Cutshall
- 5th place – Mary Anna Childers, Lainey Cottrell
- 6th place – Blaine Abruzzino, Kyler Kornelli
Junior Rocketry (ages 9-13)
- 1st place – Madison Sampers, Abi Catto
- 2nd place – Noah Parise, Callan Dugger, Beckett Duggar, Ada Grace Parise
- 3rd place – Celsey Griffin, Tyler Dixon, Barrett Tate, Grady Oliver
Senior Rocketry (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Abel Sanders, Alister Shannon, James March
- 2nd place – Madelyn Jarczynski, Connor Frappaolo, Gideon Landry, Luke Carvalho
- 3rd place – Braden Jarczynski, Aleigha Thompkins, Levi Landry, Anna Kain
Agri-Science Poster Challenge
Junior Division (ages 9-12)
- 1st place – John Terry
- 2nd place – Brandon Grover
- 3rd place – Chyann Jordan
Senior Division (ages 14-18)
- 1st place – Adaline Page
Coding
- 1st place – Zadok Rydholm
- 2nd place – Conner Haynes
- 3rd place – Mark Arkhipov
Junior Mystery (ages 9-13)
- 1st place – Mya Weldon, Bella Wishert
- 2nd place – Nora Snoots, Chloe Frappaolo, Eden Carvalho
- 3rd place – Easton Gaston, Jaxen Jacobs, James Johnson, Macon Wallace
- 4th place – Ella Cate Clowney, Kensley Roof, Addison Slack, Willa Roof
- 5th place – Penny Downer, Savannah Barefoot
- 6th place – Paul John LaRussa, Archer Bagley, Griffin Gates
Senior Mystery (ages 13-18)
- 1st place – Sydney Duncan, Newton Flores, Olivia Lewis
- 2nd place – Grant Steves, Colton Dunning, Daniel Wyatt, Keilyn Dunning
- 3rd place – Hopelynn Scott, Julian Wheeler, Jermani Brooks
- 4th place – Braden Jarczynski, Aleigha Thompkins, Levi Landry, Anna Kain
- 5th place – Lucy Grimaldi, Daniel Grimaldi
- 6th place – Clara Lynn Evans, Caroline Partain, Hobbs Lutz
South Carolina 4-H Engineering Challenge Sponsors
- The C.H. and Anna E. Lutz Foundation
- Google.org, for funding a grant administered through National 4-H Council that supports this event and 4-H artificial intelligence programs.
- Clemson University College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences
- Universal Logistics
- Willingham and Sons Building Supply in Newberry
- Steve Hudson of Union
- Herbie and Amanda Lutz of Chester, in memory of Otis Lutz
- Eric Eliassen, Lexington County 4-H Agent
