Students from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Department of Mechanical Engineering worked together to bring home both first and second place at the 2026 Cast in Steel national competition, an impressive sweep for UW-Madison and a milestone moment for the student organization that made it possible.
With inspiration (and a few stars) from the History Channel series “Forged in Fire,” the competition, hosted by the Steel Founders’ Society of America, challenges students to design and cast a historically inspired tool or weapon. This year’s assigned object was a horseman’s axe, a compact but formidable medieval weapon that required careful attention to balance, geometry and durability. The event is designed “to inspire the next generation to work with manufacturing, specifically metal casting,” says MS&E senior Laney Zuelsdorff.
The two UW-Madison teams entered the competition through the College of Engineering student organization Material Advantage and Foundry Society, or MAAFS. Guided by their advisors, Mechanical Engineering Professor Frank Pfefferkorn and Teaching Faculty II Michael Decicco, the teams spent months designing their entries, creating CAD models and preparing molds. For metal casting, one team partnered with Signicast in Hartford, while the other worked with MetalTek International in Watertown, continuing the college’s longstanding collaborations with Wisconsin’s manufacturing industry.
By the time the students arrived at the final competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they had already poured, cleaned, heat‑treated and finished their castings. What remained was the most intense part of the competition: the testing. Judges drove the students’ axes into lumber and chainmail, struck sheet metal with both blade and spike, checked edge retention on PVC pipe, and evaluated durability using a cow femur. “There was a lot of testing,” says MS&E senior Marisa Holding. “A lot.”
When judges read their results, they dismissed teams one by one that didn’t quite make the cut. “Suddenly there were just two teams left: Wisconsin and Wisconsin,” Zuelsdorff recalls. “We looked at each other and realized we were winning $25,000 no matter what.”
The Mad Badger Metalcasters, made up of Malini Datta-Nemana, Evelyn Dwyer, Chase Edwardson, Mathias Gitterle, Ana Lesmeister, Simon Niemcek and Teagan Strecker, earned the competition’s grand prize. Submitted photo.
“I was, like, literally jumping for joy,” Holding says.
The grand prize was awarded to team Mad Badger Metalcasters, made up of Malini Datta-Nemana, Evelyn Dwyer, Chase Edwardson, Mathias Gitterle, Ana Lesmeister, Simon Niemcek and Teagan Strecker.
“It was incredibly exciting to see the team’s hard work culminate in a win this year!” says MS&E sophomore Evelyn Dwyer. “Knowing we will be going back as the defending champions definitely adds a little pressure to perform at that same level, but it makes me even more motivated to get to work and participate again next year.”
Both teams also traded top honors in the competition’s three major technical categories. The Mad Badger Metalcasters won the Overall and Best Performance Awards, with the Mad‑Town Axemen close behind in second. In Historical Accuracy, the order flipped: the Mad‑Town Axemen took first place, and the Mad Badger Metalcasters earned second.
The Mad-Town Axemen, made up of seniors Ivan Cermak, Dominic Chione, Marisa Holding, Wen-Yo Yen and Laney Zuelsdorff, took second place in the competition. Submitted photo.
For the seniors—Ivan Cermak, Dominic Chione, Marisa Holding, Wen-Yo Yen and Laney Zuelsdorff—on the second-place team, the moment was bittersweet. They had spent the year mentoring the students who ultimately surpassed them. But that, they said, was the point. “We wanted this year to be about mentoring them and getting them into it for next year,” Zuelsdorff explains. “When they won, it felt like a win for all of us.”
The experience strengthened the MAAFS community, built excitement and a sense of accomplishment with the underclassmen and energized interest in metal casting across both departments. With the prize funding returning to the organization, students are already planning for next year’s challenge.
“It’s great for the university,” says Holding. “People are going to be interested in casting. And the next generation is already excited.”
Featured image caption: Two teams made up of UW-Madison materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering students took the top-two honors in the national collegiate Cast In Steel competition, which charged them with creating a horseman’s axe. Submitted photo.