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Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab

First Pitch, No Problem at EngageWVU

Serena Reeves |

Engage Pitch Comp contestants pose together

From left to right: William Rakes, Kesston Wanchick, Tyler Staub, Ruby Jackson, Alex Vahey, and Ethan Weaver pose together for a pre-competition picture. 

On March 25th, the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab hosted the 2026 EngageWVU Giving Circle Pitch Competition. The contestants consisted of six first time pitchers who gave their five minute pitch followed by five minutes of questions from the panel of judges in hopes to win up to $5,000.

The panel of judges consisted of: Erienne Olesh; Executive Director of the Office of Innovation and Commercialization, Terran Quinlan; CEO and Founder of Get2There, and Dimas Dutra; Teaching Assistant Professor at WVU in Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering.

The lineup of contestants consisted of: Kesston Wanchick; LS Starter Mount Turnover Tool,Tyler Staub; ROC Shop, William Rakes; Dodeca Bench, Ruby Jackson;  A&T Outlet, Alex Vahey; Tall Tales Plaques, and Ethan Weaver; Truss AI.

Winners and award amounts:

PANEL-DESIGNATED AWARDS

Tyler Staub  ROC Shop - $2,000

Ethan Weaver  Truss AI - $2,000

Kesston Wanchick  LS Starter Mount Turnover Tool - $1,000

POPULAR VOTE

Ethan Weaver  Truss AI - $250

Winners and judges from the 2026 EngageWVU Pitch Competition pose together

From left to right: Kesston Wanchick, Erienne Olesh, Tyler Staub, Terran Quinlan, Ethan Weaver, and Dimas Dutra pose together for a winners and judges picture.  

A special thank to our master of ceremonies, Serena Reeves. Serena is a junior biochemistry major and serves as the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab’s Marketing Specialist. Outside of work, she conducts research to address the unmet needs in disease treatment.