Jack Daly and Thomas Carey were easily dwarfed by the grand columns and stature of Washington, D.C.

Not yet seventh-graders, the boys came to a national competition as alternates — not team members — for a small school from rural Mississippi.

But at the end of the day, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, they wore bronze medals and grand smiles.

On May 31, Trinity Episcopal science students trekked up to Washington, D.C., to compete against 60 teams.

Twelve-year-olds Daly and Carey were not part of the 15-member team but were alternates and were allowed to compete in any of the five trial events, said Stephanie Daly, team coach and Jack’s mother.

“It’s not always bad to be alternates,” Jack Daly said.

The boys constructed a wind-powered energy generating device with scissors, tape, a CD and a Manilla folder.

Prior to the event the boys were allowed to research and try out different designs, but at the Olympiad they had to construct it on the spot.

“They said we had 20 minutes to build it and 10 minutes to try it out,” Jack Daly said.

Leaving little to no wiggle room for failure, the two students worked in steps.

First they carefully measured and cut out five of what looked like fan blades from the Manilla folder.

Next, they had to strategically fold the edges of the Manilla blades.

They then taped each of the five blades onto a compact disc.

This fan of sorts, which resembles a makeshift windmill, is then placed on a mechanical device that spins it, like putting a CD in a CD player.

While other teams’ blades resembled airplane propellers or had a larger blades, Jack Daly and Carey’s blades were more short and blunt.

“We were thinking, ‘How the heck are we going to win with that dopey square design?’” Jack Daly said.

The device is judged on however much voltage it generates in a minute, Carey explained.

Merely a few weeks before the event, the boys were allowed to skip gym class to try out different designs and they discovered that, without a doubt, the one they had worked the best.

Stephanie Daly said the Trinity students were competing against students whose schools devote entire semesters to preparing for the Science Olympiad.

“It’s full time (for some), they just do Science Olympiad,” she said. “The level of competition is so much higher.”

She said it’s unusual for Trinity to have done so well when the school doesn’t have the same type of science programs as other larger schools.

“A third place national medal is huge for little bitty Trinity Episcopal,” Stephanie Daly said.

When the Trinity team went to and won the state competition at the University of Southern Mississippi, they only had to compete against 16 other teams, she said.

Other state winners had to beat out hundreds of others to make it the Washington, D.C.

Carey said he was blown away by their win.

“I didn’t think we had much of a chance,” he said. “It’s a pretty good feeling.”

Jack Daly said the journey was tough but rewarding.

“You try so hard and once you get there it makes you feel good,” he said.

Stephanie Daly said the trip to Washington, D.C., was a great experience and without sponsors, the team couldn’t have made it.

Carey is the son of Dr. Tom and Delecia Carey.

Daly’s father is Dr. Ed Daly.