Two Utica Community Schools have motored their way to top honors at a statewide robotics tournament, including one team earning the state championship.
Jeannette Junior High School students and a UCS high school team will be competing in the World Finals this April after earning top awards at the Michigan VEX Robotics State Championship, held March 2 at Michigan State University.
The Jeannette Fighting Patriots earned the state championship against 17 other teams in the middle school division.
The Thunderchickens - a team comprised of students from across UCS high schools - earned entry in the world tournament by finishing as a state tournament finalist.
The high school team also won the Programming Skills award through the work of its programmer, Dante Paglia.
Another Jeannette team competing in the state tournament, making its way to the quarterfinals.
“This is an amazing group of students and I couldn't be more proud of their hard work and dedication,” said Fighting Patriots Coach Danielle Harrison. “The team has invested many hours building and programming their robot and successfully competing in tournaments. This has been a great season.”
ThuderChicken coach Jeff Kausch said: "I have coached youth robotics for ten years, but this group of students has achieved something unique. They have found the perfect combination of skill, motivation, and friendship, and I believe that it what has enabled them to achieve the incredible success they have this season. They truly all enjoy what they do and have a great time working together. As a coach, I couldn’t ask for anything more."
The Vex Robotics tournament is designed to create interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. Each year, an engineering challenge is presented in the form of a game.
Students, with guidance from their teachers and mentors, use the VEX Robotics Design System to build innovative robots designed to score the most points possible in qualification matches, elimination matches and Skills Challenges. Both Jeannette teams qualified for the state tournament after earning high scores in a "skills" event at the regional tournament.
The state Jeannette championship team –Team B - is comprised of Jacob Hamameh, Lauren Crist, Christine Perumalil, Robert Jaramillo, Devandra Tambat, and Zack Foster.
The high school team is comprised of Andrew Fleury, of Eisenhower High School and the Utica Center for Science and Industry, Ryan Oleski, of Shelby Junior High School and CSI; Brennan Coffey; Dante Paglia, of Utica High School; and Kevin Kausch of Eisenhower High School.
The team,will compete in the Vex Robotics World Finals in late April in Anaheim, California.
The team that competed in the quarter finals – Team A – is comprised of Zac Harrison, Wil Harrison and Zachary Werbrouck.
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