J.R. Nixon, 13, loads a rocket onto a launching pad Friday morning at Four Seasons Park in Minster. Nixon and other members of the Minster Middle School Rocket Team are trying to qualify for the national Team America Rocket Challenge. Teams must design, build and fly a model rocket that can lift a raw egg to exactly 825 feet in 40-45 seconds and then return the egg to earth undamaged using a streamer recovery system. The top 100 teams are invited to the national event in Washington, D.C., in May, where prizes include $60,000 in cash and several scholarships.