TDHS Robotics Team Wins State Championship, Advances to World Competition
Robotics teams Irrelevant and System Overload from The Dalles will advance to the World Finals VEX Competition in Dallas, TX, in May. Pictured from left to right : (front) Abijah Patterson, Angel Garcia, Theo Sandoz, (back) Chuck Webber, Makalya Williamson, Ian Castaneda, Colin Schecter, Jack McAllister, Lu Seapy.
By Lu Seapy
Gorge robotics students from The Dalles took top honors at the Oregon State VEX Robotics Championships recently and will advance to the World Finals in Dallas, Texas, May 5-7.
The region sent 12 teams from Dufur, Hood River, and The Dalles and brought back multiple awards and two teams (Irrelevant and System Overload) earned slots to compete against top teams at the World Finals later this spring.
Team System Overload (made up of sophomores Ian Castaneda, Jack McAllister, and Colin Schecter) brought home both the Tournament Championship award for top place in the robot game and the Think Award for robot programming. Both the award and their top finish in the finals qualified the team for the World Championship.
Looking forward to the World Championship, sophomore Colin Schecter of System Overload said, “I am excited to meet teams from around the world that we had only talked to before online." His team began connecting with other teams when researching the challenge last May
The Build Award for robust robot design and high quality construction was the winning ticket to the World Finals for team Irrelevant, made up of The Dalles High School seniors Angel Garcia, Abijah Patterson, Theo Sandoz and Makalya Williamson.
“I couldn't be prouder of both of these teams and their achievements at the highest level of robotics at the state level,” said TDHS coach Chuck Webber.
Dufur and Dragons representing Dufur School won the Sportsmanship Award. “The state robotics competition was a great learning experience for my teams. With this being most of my students' first time doing robotics, they have grown and accomplished a lot this year. I am proud of them for giving their all and earning the Sportsmanship Award!” said Dufur coach Jody Weaver.
In total, 110 teams from across Oregon competed in this event which was the largest single day robotics competition in the US. The action-packed day was hosted by Willamette High School and the Oregon VEX Robotics Competition alliance.
“All of our students represented the Gorge well and did their best. The effort from all teams was commendable. We travelled together as a region, competed as a region, and brought home major honors,” said Wasco County 4-H Coach Lu Seapy.
Teams Irrelevant and System Overload are seeking community support for their bid to the World Championship. Individuals interested in supporting the teams can contact charles.webber@nwasco.k12.or.us or call TDHS at 541-506-3400.
VEX World Championship is the world’s largest robotics competition with over 800 teams competing. There are more than 24,000 VEX teams from over 60 countries that participate in over 2,500 events worldwide.
