MCAP, a Hillcrest High School team, won the $10,000 grand prize at the 2026 Tim Draper High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge for a bottle cap that filters microplastics, leading a competitive field of student-led ventures statewide.
Salt Lake City, Utah — February 28, 2026
A team of students from Hillcrest High School took home top honors and $10,000 in prize money at the 2026 Tim Draper High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (HSUEC) final event which took place on February 28, 2026 at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah.
The winning team, MCAP, developed a cap attachment for plastic water bottles designed to filter microplastics and nanoplastics from drinking water.
“We filter microplastics and nanoplastics from your drinking plastic water bottles,” said Sashwath Narayanan, a junior at Hillcrest and a member of the MCAP team. “We realized that microplastics and nanoplastics have huge negative impacts on human health and quality of life. We had to figure out a way for people to still use plastic water bottles but be safer while doing so.”
From Prototype to Market
With the $10,000 grand prize, MCAP plans to accelerate product development and move toward commercialization.
“It means we can finalize and complete our prototype, and we can actually go to market now,” Narayanan said. “Our next step is to start creating focus groups, testing our product with different users and building different versions. Then we plan to partner with major local companies and begin selling.”
The competition, open to all Utah high school students, awarded $30,000 in total cash and scholarships this year. The program is hosted by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a top-10 ranked interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, and sponsored by venture capitalist Tim Draper.
Each team in the challenge identified a real-world problem and proposed a scalable solution.
“The teams were very impressive this year, and our judges had a very hard time picking winners,” said Logan Bogesvang, student director for HSUEC. “We look forward to seeing every finalist grow beyond this competition. Making it to the final event and presenting their ideas is already a major achievement.”
2025–26 HSUEC Winners
Below is a breakdown of this year’s award recipients:
| Award | Prize | Winner | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prize (Sponsored by Tim Draper) | $10,000 | MCAP | Hillcrest High School |
| Second Place | $5,000 | Priority Fencing | — |
| Third Place | $2,500 | Computerpreter | Skyline High School |
| Top Online Vote Award | $500 | Computerpreter | Skyline High School |
| Community Impact Award (Sponsored by Entrepreneur Association) | $2,500 | Samantha Hill | Rowland Hall |
| Finalist Awards (20 teams) | $100 each | All finalists | Various schools |
| Lassonde Studios Founders Scholarship | $1,000 housing scholarship | All finalists | — |
| Lassonde Startup Academy Scholarships | — | MCAP | — |
All top 20 teams were offered a place in the Lassonde Founders program, which includes a $1,000 housing scholarship to live and build ventures at Lassonde Studios. The grand prize team also received scholarships to the Lassonde Startup Academy.
HSUEC serves as the high school counterpart to the collegiate Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, which is awarding $75,000 in cash and prizes this year.
Top 20 Finalist Teams (Alphabetical Order)
The following teams advanced to the final round of the 2025–26 competition:
| Team | School | Concept |
|---|---|---|
| AIOS | Hillcrest High School | Interchangeable-sole shoe that allows users to switch styles and functions. |
| AloeFlex | Hillcrest High School | Orthopedic brace with cooling aloe-vera fabric and an app to monitor swelling and recovery. |
| Computerpreter | Skyline High School | AI-powered ASL recognition tool for real-time deaf-hearing communication. |
| Crabtree Clinics | Tooele High School | Holistic mental health clinics addressing biology, psychology, community, lifestyle and meaning. |
| Daybreak Alarm & Sync | Park City High School | Light-sensitive alarm system that requires users to turn on lights to stop the alarm. |
| Hike Hounds | Bingham High School | Dog-focused hiking app recommending trails based on breed, size and energy level. |
| HydroCap | Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy | Smart irrigation retrofit to reduce water waste and prevent pipe damage. |
| Kalloo | Park City High School | Kids’ safety watch with one-button location alert for parents. |
| Kensington Apothecary | Olympus High School | Organic, small-batch men’s grooming brand with British apothecary branding. |
| Lab Safety Assistant | Skyline High School | AI safety tool analyzing lab setups and referencing the NIOSH Pocket Guide. |
| Little Sliders | — | Expandable children’s shoe with integrated growth-adjustment mechanism. |
| LockMate | Park City High School | AI-powered home security system with mobile unlocking and camera monitoring. |
| Luke Clark Films | American Fork High School | Cinematic wedding videography focused on story-driven films. |
| MCAP | Hillcrest High School | Bottle cap attachment filtering microplastics and nanoplastics. |
| Natural Language Compression | — | Satellite-focused natural language text encoder reducing transmission costs. |
| PathFinder | West High School | Verified job board and mentorship platform for high school students. |
| Priority Fencing | — | Olympic-style fencing equipment, starting with a female-specific chest protector. |
| REHEAT | Park City High School | Self-heating food container with insulated layered design. |
| Score It | Rowland Hall-St. Mark’s | AI-powered gymnastics judging and coaching platform. |
| Uptwn Vintage | Spanish Fork High School | Online vintage clothing retailer targeting students. |
About the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. The institute provides experiential entrepreneurship programs for students across campus, including startup competitions, workshops, scholarships and residential innovation programs at Lassonde Studios.
For more information about the Tim Draper High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, visit lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec.