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Students from Eastern Alamance High School proved themselves a cut above the rest when they won the Carpenters Cup Challenge last Saturday during the contest sponsored by the Alamance-Caswell Home Builders Association.

The sixth annual event raised about $7,000 for Alamance County high schools’ carpentry programs, according to Susan Black, the builders association’s executive officer. The winners also received a trophy to mark their achievement.

Each of the five participating teams included students, a teacher and a local builder, who worked together to construct a 10-foot-by-12-foot storage building, which the association sold for $1,600 apiece. The three-judge panel, made up of a local builder, a school official and a local building inspector, evaluated the teams as they worked in the association’s parking lot using the following criteria:

• Safety.

• Quality of work.

• Overall appearance.

• Timeliness.

• Construction technique, including accuracy of cuts and use of materials.

• Use of plans and directions.

• Teamwork.

• Job-site cleanliness.

The five teams represented the county’s programs at Eastern Alamance, Western Alamance, Southern Alamance and Graham high schools, as well as Sellars-Gunn Education Center, which serves students from Walter M. Williams and Hugh M. Cummings high schools.

“We really got a great response this year,” said James Hunter, president of the association and owner of Hunter Builders. “Everybody we asked has donated.”

The donations included everything from building materials such as siding and shingles to lunches of hot dogs and pizza for the student teams. That was an accomplishment this year, organizers said.

“With the economy the way it is we were happy to be able to do (the contest) this year,” said Black, adding that the challenge is a “neat project” that brings together builders, parents, teachers and students.

Contest contributors were: Ace Portable Restrooms, Adams Towing and Recovery, Beaver Construction, Biscuitville, Boswell Construction, Brown Construction, Builders Mutual Insurance Co., Castle Rock Enterprises, Concept Builders, Davis Roofing, DeBoer & Gabriel Builders, Doggett Realty and Construction, GCF, Hunter Builders, LP Corp., Let’s Talk Trash, Lowes of Burlington, Lowes of Mebane, Mebco, Modern Builders, Overman Building Supply, Pella Windows, Ray Whitesell Construction, Robert Smith General Contractor, Scott Stone, Shoffner Construction and Development, Universal Forest Products and Zack’s Hotdogs.

During the building blitz, students were able to demonstrate their skills with power tools, circular saws, trim guns, as well as lower-tech gear like hammers and nails.

The buildings, three of which had owners earlier this week, are delivered free to buyers within Alamance County.

It’s a worthy investment, according to Hunter, who estimated a similar structure would cost around $3,000 for a homeowner to have built.

“It’s a honey of a deal,” he said. “And it’s all good products used in it.”

Contact Heather L. Modlin at 373-7144 or heather.modlin@news-record.com.