A team of Shorewood High School students earned top honors after participating in the BUILD motorcycle program, taking first place at the American Flat Track race held at Atwater Racetrack in Beaver Dam, WI. The Shorewood team also took first place in the “Pit Challenge.”
Founded by The Iron Horse Hotel in 2011, BUILD is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to pairing teams of high school students with bike-building mentors in a collective effort to learn valuable life and interpersonal skills while working on motorcycles.
During the annual BUILD season, from January to June, each participating team is given a vintage motorcycle by BUILD to work on, with guidance from mentors, in the team’s designated work space with the end goal of racing the bike in one or more American Flat Track motorcycle races. The BUILD program provides the chassis, working motor, and core components of the bike for the team to complete building with a few customized items, including the look and design of the bike.
Shorewood students participating in this year’s BUILD team included: Ben Pritchard, Leo Fowler, Leland Hanewall, Charlie Hietpas, Morgan Gamblin and Liam Smith. The Shorewood team was advised by SHS teacher Kevin Kane. Moto-Scoot hosted the team’s work on their motorcycle, and Andy Mauk, the owner of Moto-Scoot, served as the lead mentor for the team. Other mentors included: Jen Froh, Jack Kainz, Larry Thompson, and Craig Schmidt. Ezra Brusky raced the team’s motorcycle.
The Shorewood team’s participation in the BUILD program was supported by the $1M Meet the Match Campaign and the Shorewood SEED Foundation.
To learn more about Shorewood’s BUILD team, visit their page on Instagram.