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May 22, 2014 – Forty-five Allegheny and Grove City College student entrepreneurs participated in a high energy competition on Saturday, April 26 by pitching their business ideas to a panel of judges during Allegheny’s Eighth Annual Gator Innovation Challenge. The all-day event, hosted by Entrepreneur-in-Residence Chris Allison, Allegheny College Class of 1983, was held on the Allegheny campus.

Allegheny’s Gator Innovation Challenge, a part of the managerial track programming in the college’s Department of Economics, is designed to provide students the opportunity to present ideas to highly successful professionals in their fields. It also offers them the opportunity to network and gain valuable presentation experience.

First place and $1,000 in prize money at this year’s competition was awarded to the Light It Up Dance Studio team from Grove City College: Zoe Simek, Elisabeth Trease, Whitney Blankenship and Tyler Vielguth.

Second place and $750 in prize money was awarded to the DJ Tweet Me team from Allegheny: Connor Bratten, Matthew Hajduk and Dibyo Mukherjee.

Each team was awarded $500 in prize money in a three-way tie for third place. Allegheny’s Visceral Promotions team members were Keith Maxwell and James Broderick. Grove City College’s Arch Accessories team members were Noah Walker, Luke Swadener and Chadwyck Cobb. Grove City College’s Health Quest team members were Rebecca Torre and Chloe Smiley.

There was a two-way tie for honorable mention, with each team receiving $250 in prize money. Clayton Morris of Allegheny College presented Shark Bite Kite. Grove City College’s Art Felt team members were Sarah Klein, Mia McMahon, Megan Smith and Chadwyck Cobb.

Judges were John Golden, associate professor of economics at Allegheny College; Rick Harris, Allegheny Class of 1966, executive coach and strategy consultant, Launchpad Venture Group LLC, Boston; Jo Ann Pacinelli, Allegheny Class of 1982, president of E Capital Exchange LLC, Pittsburgh; Daniel Reininga, Allegheny Class of 1980, president and chief executive officer, Lake Shore Savings Bank, Fredonia, N.Y.; and Lance Zingale, Allegheny Class of 1977, executive vice president and general manager, major markets, Sykes Enterprises, Inc., Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla.