Forging Victory: YSU’s Winning Sword in the Cast in Steel Competition

Trumbull Foundry
6 days ago
2 min read

Trumbull Foundry Proudly Supports the 2025 Washinguins Team

In the spring of 2025, Trumbull Foundry was honored to collaborate with a talented student team from Youngstown State University in their entry for the national Cast in Steel competition—a challenge steeped in history, metallurgy, and craftsmanship.

The mission? To design and cast a fully functional modern-day George Washington Sword. For a competition drawing nearly 40 schools from across the U.S., the pressure was on—and the stakes were literally razor-sharp.

Sparks fly during molten metal pour at Trumbull Foundry for competition blade. — Casting the competition sword at Trumbull Foundry for YSU’s Washinguins team.

YSU Competition Sword A True Collaboration of Craftsmanship

This project was more than just steel and fire; it was a community-wide effort involving Humtown, Youngstown Heat Treat, Oakes Foundry, and our team here at Trumbull Foundry.

Our contribution? Supporting the casting of a blade in our facility that would go on to be known not just for its strength—but for its precision, beauty, and performance.

The YSU sword was cast in a single solid piece—blade and handle combined (pictured below). Weighing 3.8 pounds, it held up against cherry wood and blocks of ice in a rigorous testing process. Judges praised the Washinguins, YSU’s team name, for their boldness and confidence in their craftsmanship.

For many students, this was more than a competition—it was an introduction to the foundry world.

“I originally joined because I love swords but now I’ve learned so much about casting,” said Victoria Mathews, a first-year mechanical engineering student. “There’s way more to it than I expected.”

Opportunities like this expose young engineers to the complexity and beauty of metallurgy, pattern work, and the precision involved in industrial casting—elements that are at the heart of what we do every day at Trumbull Foundry.

YSU student slices through block of ice during live sword testing at competition — YSU student slices ice with the competition sword during performance testing.

YSU took home the top prize, outperforming all 40 teams from across the nation. The judges highlighted the sword’s structural integrity, aesthetic detail, and unmatched functionality—a perfect blend of form and function.

Congratulations to Coleman Buchanan, Elly Volz, Ely Vuksanovich, Joseph Bartlett, and Victoria Mathews—members of YSU’s American Foundry Society student chapter—on their incredible success at the 2025 Steel Founders’ Society of America’s Cast in Steel Competition in Atlanta!

This team brought home top honors, including:

🏅 Grand Prize Winner – $25,000

🥇 Best Performance – 1st place

🥈 Best Casting – 2nd place

🥈 Best Design & Process – 2nd place

Trumbull is incredibly proud to have played a small part in this win, supporting the next generation of metallurgists, engineers, and creators. To the YSU Washinguins—congratulations on your well-deserved victory!

Watch their competition video here!