Dover wins fourth straight Teen Driving ROADeo

The 29th annual Teen Driving ROADeo took place Wednesday, April 29, at the Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds.

Hosted by the Tuscarawas County Health Department, this year’s event featured high school students from seven area schools who competed in safe-driving tests and maneuverability courses to win gas gift cards and bragging rights for themselves and their schools.

The Safety ROADeo aims to help young drivers learn better driving skills and the rules of the road while encouraging them to think about their actions behind the wheel. The event’s focus is to reduce traffic crashes and injuries involving teenagers in Tuscarawas County.

Students competed in written tests, safety poster designs and driving skills. Participating schools included Buckeye Career Center, Claymont, Dover, Garaway, Indian Valley, Tuscarawas Central Catholic and Tusky Valley.

The Safety ROADeo was made possible through resources from the Tuscarawas County Community Foundation, Ferris Chevrolet Toyota, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, the Dover Police Department, the Gnadenhutten Police Department, the Ohio Department of Transportation, Students Against Destructive Decisions, the Tuscarawas County Coroner’s Office, the Tuscarawas County Health Department, the Tuscarawas County Fairgrounds, WJER and school supporters. The event was funded, in part, through a grant from the Tuscarawas County Community Foundation.

Winners from the 2026 Teen Driving ROADeo were:

Team rankings: Dover, first; Tusky Valley, second; Claymont, third.

Best written test scores: Emmie McKinney, Indian Valley, first; Colton Heslop, Claymont, second; Alex Hamsher, Garaway, third; Rachel Sigler, Claymont, fourth; Cameron Nauer, Dover, fifth.

Best safety poster: Claymont.

Best overall driving skills: Peyton Grafe, Dover, first; Quincey Werntz, Dover, second; Liam Mast, Dover, third; Matt Schreiner, Dover, fourth; Maleah Dillon, Tusky Valley, fifth.

Individual driving event top scorers: Landon Souers, Tusky Valley, serpentine; Broden Supers, Tuscarawas Central Catholic, star; Mathew Berndt, Claymont, backing and lane change; Bronsen Owens, Buckeye Career Center, right parallel park; AJ Miller, Garaway, left parallel park.

For the fourth year in a row, Dover won the team competition, with Tusky Valley placing second and Claymont earning third.

The Dover team of Peyton Grafe, Addie Hindman, Liam Mast, Cameron Nauer, Matt Schreiner and Quincey Werntz earned a school trophy for its efforts at the Teen Driving ROADeo. The team was supported by coordinator Benj Miller.

For the second consecutive year, Claymont won the driving safety poster contest. Claymont’s team included Mathew Berndt, Colton Heslop, Jayden Hunter, Korbin Burkholder, Leo McCue and Rachel Sigler. The team was supported by coordinator Bart Wigfield.