2020’s Neuse River District Pinewood Derby was held on Saturday, March 7 in Knightdale with over 50 Lion, Tiger, Wolf and Bear Cub Scouts and Webelos participating. A bevy of creative, colorful and amazing cars were submitted for the Originality and Craftsmanship competitions in each division. Judging was done after check-in the night before, and the judges had to stay late to duke it out — there were many close calls! There was even a 3-way ties in one categories, so additional judges had to be brought in to determine the final winners.
The Speed competition started at 10:15 AM and went along smoothly with emcee Jen Scoggins from Pack 500 keeping everything moving and all the Cubs/Webelos excited. As Round 1 proceeded, it was clear that the speed races were
going to be close and the winners would be separated by only a fraction of a second. The fastest cars from each Division (Lions/Tigers, Wolf/Bear, Webelos) were advanced to the Grand Finals, their cumulative times reset to zero, and a nail-biting three more race heats took place to determine the Fastest Overall.
Thanks to all the Pack leaders, parents and Cub Scouts that participated, and especially the many volunteers that gave of their time to make the event possible, including (but not limited to):
- Michael Harrelson, PWD Committee Chair
- Jenny Goguen, Emcee
- David Harris, PWD Committee/Race Official
- Scott Schnegelberger, PWD Committee/Race Official
- …and many others
Originality
Lions/Tigers
1st Emily Ecevedo, Pack 365
2nd Bryce Thompson, Pack 365
3rd Simon Lieb, Pack 347
Wolf/Bear
1st Allen Harrell, Pack 365
2nd Aarya Narayanan, Pack 3
3rd John Louis Savoy, Pack 500
Webelos
1st Andrew Horner, Pack 500
2nd Joshua Yoneoka, Pack 347
3rd Aiden Wisnieski, Pack 5
Craftsmanship
Lions/Tigers
1st Ella Ochsenhirt, Pack 347
2nd Abraham Wilmoth, Pack 365
3rd Gage Meyer, Pack 236
Wolf/Bear
1st Zoey Phillips, Pack 236
2nd Eli Swan, Pack 347
3rd Bryson Tasiaco, Pack 365
Webelos
1st Kait Savoy, Pack 500
2nd Isaac Northington, Pack 3
3rd Gabriel Brinkley, Pack 347
Speed
Lions/Tigers
1st Mya Santiago, 2.7395 sec., Pack 236
2nd William Prescott, 2.7698 sec., Pack 347
3rd Gabriel Yoneoka, 2.7707 sec., Pack 347
Wolf/Bear
1st Zachary Kaufmann, 2.7448 sec., Pack 500
2nd Brayden Rochester, 2.7818 sec., Pack 3
3rd Christian Johnston, 2.7995 sec., Pack 365
Webelos
1st Kaleb Santiago, 2.7013 sec., Pack 236
2nd Eli Dudley, 2.7158 sec., Pack 5
3rd 2.7514, 2.7514 sec., Pack 365
Speed Grand Finals
Fastest Overall (3 racers — fastest from each division; 3 heats)
Kaleb Santiago, 2.6847 seconds, Pack 236
For those whose participation certificates got printed accidentally with the wrong year on it, grab this PDF and reprint as needed.