A Kalispell Montessori team took first place at state in eCybermission, a web-based competition, for the sixth-grade level.

Members of the Montanassorians — Nina Friedman, Zach Hong, Maria Makman and Luke Ritzdorf — each won a $1,000 savings bond. Their team adviser was Tom Ritzdorf.

The U.S. Army Educational Outreach Program’s annual free competition invites teams of sixth- through ninth-graders to research and solve a problem in their community.

The Montanassorians engineered a project to help lower child obesity in the Flathead Valley. They chose this topic after learning about the significant increase of childhood obesity over the past 30 years.

For their winning project, “Lighten Up,” the Montanassorians designed a four-week health and fitness competition for children ages 8 to 14. Through the program, participants would record their exercise and diet.

The program would conclude with a fun run and chances to win prizes. Luke and Maria, both 12, said team members looked into prizes that were athletic- or outdoor-specific gear.

“We were thinking of offering prizes that would help them exercise more,” Makman said.

Team members handed out pamphlets describing the four-week competition and determined how their program would be received by conducting online surveys. They received 39 responses to the survey, which asked questions such as how potential participants thought they might perform during the competition and how their eating and exercising habits might change afterward.

Responses showed there was a lot of interest in the competition, Luke said. He is already looking forward to the next eCybermission contest.

“We’re actually thinking for the upcoming year to actually host the program,” Luke Ritzdorf said.

For more information about the competition, visit www.ecybermission.com.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].