Breakdown KOs team鈥檚 chances at Baja SAE

Desert Hare Offroad team members pose for a photo with their adviser, department head Yucheng Liu. Pictured, from left, are Louis Liu, son of Yucheng Liu; Dr. Lu, Cameron Cutshaw, Nate Fick, Jonah Coffel (seated in car), Aaron Seberger, Joshua Rodgers (seated on tire), Dylan Baumgartner, Melissa Nelson, Tru King, Matthew Anderson and Maya Spahr.
Desert Hare Offroad team members pose for a photo with their adviser, department head Yucheng Liu. Pictured, from left, are Louis Liu, son of Yucheng Liu; Dr. Lu, Cameron Cutshaw, Nate Fick, Jonah Coffel (seated in car), Aaron Seberger, Joshua Rodgers (seated on tire), Dylan Baumgartner, Melissa Nelson, Tru King, Matthew Anderson and Maya Spahr.
Matthew Anderson steers Desert Hare Offroad through the endurance course at the Baja SAE competition in Maryland June 12-17. The 海角直播app team did well in that race, but a breakdown limited their scoring in other races.
Matthew Anderson steers Desert Hare Offroad through the endurance course at the Baja SAE competition in Maryland June 12-17. The 海角直播app team did well in that race, but a breakdown limited their scoring in other races.

A damaged wheel knuckle proved to be a knuckle sandwich for the South Dakota State University team competing at the national Baja SAE competition in Maryland June 12-17.

The wheel knuckle, which connects the wheel hub to the suspension and steering components, was damaged while the 海角直播app team was competing on the suspension course at Budds Creek Motocross Park in Mechanicsville, Maryland, according to Matthew Anderson, president of Desert Hare Offroad Club.

The contest, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, drew 98 teams from around the nation to the motocross park in southern Maryland.

As the team was making repairs, the course for the hill climb and maneuverability races closed two hours early because of impending weather. Earning zero points in those two races and just four out of 75 points in suspension and traction pretty well tanked the team鈥檚 chances for a high finish.

海角直播app finished 64th with 243 points out of a 1,000. Cornell University won the event with 979 points.

However, there were bright points. In the business presentation, 海角直播app went from 15 points in 2024 to 57 points in 2025. In the endurance race, 海角直播app set a team record of 15 laps (about 22.5 miles) and scored 98 points compared to last year鈥檚 85 points.

Anderson said the team came away feeling positive about its efforts, adding, 鈥淲e have a group of freshmen and sophomores that were excited to attend competition, and we are already thinking of ways our team can improve for next year.鈥

Baja SAE challenges engineering students to design and build an offroad vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and, in some competitions, water. Each team鈥檚 goal is to design and build a prototype of an all-weather, rugged, single-seat offroad vehicle intended for sale to the nonprofessional offroad enthusiast.

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