The University of Missouri-Rolla Human-Powered Vehicle Team won its fourth-straight championship in the East Coast Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge April 23 in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

UMR took first place in the male sprint, female sprint and endurance events on its way to the overall championship. In the design and presentation category, UMR placed second. Teams from the University of Oklahoma and Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico finished second and third overall.

UMR also competes annually against college and university teams from around the country in the West Coast competition, which will be held this year on April 30 in Fresno, Calif.

UMR’s 2005 design is a "sit-down, two-wheeled bicycle with an aerodynamic shell," according to team member Andrew Sourk, a freshman in aerospace engineering from St. Joseph, Mo.

The East Coast event was hosted this year by the University of Alabama. The West Coast event is being hosted by the University of California-Fresno. Both competitions are sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. More information is available at www.asme.org/hpv.