THETFORD — A Thetford Academy team took home third place in the University of Vermont’s Vermont Pitch Challenge last Thursday.

The group, comprising siblings Elie and Penelope O’Brien, and Hardy Payson, won a prize of $5,000 for their business idea MIND, a social enterprise that would help neurodivergent students prepare for life after high school.

They were among five finalists to pitch their business idea to a panel of student judges from the University of Vermont.

Established last year, the Vermont Pitch Challenge is a Shark-Tank-style competition for high school students from across the globe who have an altruistic business idea and a passion for entrepreneurship.

This year’s finalists were selected from more than 140 applications by UVM’s Entrepreneurship Club, whose members also served on the panel of judges.

This year’s other finalists placed as follows:

■New Jersey resident Matthew McPherson was awarded the grand prize, a full scholarship to UVM, for his environmentally-friendly underwear company, Boxer Breeze.

■Second place winner Claire Teany of Massachusetts received $5,000 for her company OceanAble, which would manufacture surfboards for people with disabilities.

■Fourth place winner Jamie Cheng of North Carolina was awarded $1,000 for his powder-based allergy medication, RespiraGel.

■Massachusetts resident Reya Kannan came in fifth place and received $1,000 for Yard 2 Yum, a nonprofit that would use a points-based reward system to encourage restaurants to reduce their food waste.