SHEPHERDSTOWN — Shepherd University students took two of the top three spots in this year’s West Virginia Innovation + Business Model Competition (WVIBMC).

The statewide business model competition held on April 30 is part of Bridging Innovation Week, the state’s premier entrepreneurship event hosted this year at Shepherd.

Students competing in the WVIBMC had to design and present a desirable, feasible, and viable business.

Senior biology major Malakai Hanson received second place and was awarded $2,000 for his beekeeping business, Humble Hives.

Freshman business administration major Logan Moiles and his partner, Jefferson High School senior and dual enrollment student McKenna Valasek, received third place and $1,000 for their food truck, Simply Smoothies.

Valasek went on to win a minimum of $2,500 when she presented the business again on Thursday during Shepherd’s High School Financial Plan and Entrepreneurship Competition.

Senior business administration majors Cameron West, who designed a business to recycle silverware into jewelry called Ronnie’s Rings, and freshman Mary Mauney, who pitched her idea, called Mare’s Beloved Bakery, each received $500 for their presentations.