2024 National Champions
Tharptown High School takes home the top prize!
Tharptown High School of Russellville, Alabama took home the top prize at the 2024 National Finals on May 19, 2024 at Great Meadow in the The Plains, Va. Tharptown High School will go on to represent the United States in the International Rocketry Challenge at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024.
In all, a record-breaking 922 teams from 45 states competed in the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge. Students designed, built, and launched rockets to exacting requirements as they competed for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes. Below are the results for this year’s National Finals, as well as the Presentation and Marketing Competitions.
The top twenty-five finishers receive an invitation to participate in NASA’s Student Launch initiative to continue their exploration of rocketry with high-powered rockets and challenging mission parameters.
Read the release HERE.
2024 National Champions: Tharptown High School
Tharptown High School of Russellville, Alabama took home the top prize at the 2024 National Finals on May 19, 2024 at Great Meadow in the The Plains, Va. Tharptown High School will go on to represent the United States in the International Rocketry Challenge at the Farnborough International Airshow in July 2024.
In all, a record-breaking 922 teams from 45 states competed in the 2024 American Rocketry Challenge. Students designed, built, and launched rockets to exacting requirements as they competed for more than $100,000 in cash and prizes. Below are the results for this year’s National Finals, as well as the Presentation and Marketing Competitions.
Tharptown High School has become a rocketry powerhouse, sending a team to the National Finals six times since the program started in 2018. Tharptown High School has now placed in the top 10 four times, including a second-place finish in 2023. The team is mentored by Andrew Heath, who was the team captain of the Russellville City Schools team that won the International Rocketry Challenge in 2015.
2024 Marketing Competition Winner
Watch the winning Marketing Competition video from Olympia High School (Olympia, WA).
2024 Presentation Competition Winners
Check out the winning entries from the 2024 Presentation Competition (click links to download the pdfs):
- First Place: St. Monica’s Home School (Ridgefield, CT) – $3,000
- Second Place: Milpitas High School (Milpitas CA) – $1,500
- Best First-time Team: Girl Scout Troop 76141 (Plainfield, IL) – $500
Past Winners
In its 20-year history, the American Rocketry Challenge has hosted some of the brightest young minds across the country. Check out the past rocket contest champions through our previous results.
International Rocketry Challenge
The top team at the National Finals goes on to represent the United States in the International Rocketry Challenge. Learn more about the International Rocketry Challenge and the past winners.
