ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — A group of Rockford 6th graders has scored first place in the national Cal Ripken Sr. STEM Challenge.

The all-girl Team Zip Zoom is from Marshall Middle School, including Victoria McCallister, Adalia Moyer, Zoe Fosse, Ophelila McClellan, and Lydia Ruffner.

"We really got introduced to this challenge by our teacher, who, like, told us about it, and we were interested in it. So we were like, 'Let's give this a shot,'" said Zoe.

The competition challenges teams from around the nation to create a device that helps reduce pollution or cleans up the environment.

"We drew a lot of inspiration from our experiences with the Rock River and all of the other rivers in town," said Ophelia.

The team created a 4-step process to address shoreline pollution.

"The first part is

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