Greenville Middle School and Greenville Sixth Grade Center will be competing in the two most elite Robotics competitions in early and mid-April. GMS will be sending four teams to compete in the CREATE U.S. Open National Robotics Championship on April 7th-9th in Council Bluffs, IA. In addition, GMS will send one team to the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship, on April 15th in Louisville, KY. In addition, three teams from the Greenville Sixth Grade Center will compete in the 2015 VEX IQ Challenge World Championship.
Teams qualify for the U.S. Open based on awards they have won at competitions throughout the year. Qualification criteria state that a team must be an official registered team and must attend a local qualifying tournament. Eligible teams must also have won either the Excellence Award or been named as a Tournament Champion for the qualification tournament. Teams that have qualified for the U.S. Open are:
Team 2148A – Team members are Jordan Frimpter, Trenton Burns, Tessa Mitchell, Austin Burns and Yeonsoo Jung.
Team 2148C – Team members are Pierce Thurmond, Javier Littlefield, Ethan McGee and Brett Ozarowski.
Team 2148D – Team members are Noah Stone, Faith Clayton, Corbin Hudgeons, Landon Koger and Brady Diggs.
Team 3148E – Team members are Dallas Davies, Nick Stromberg, Kian Smith, Heaven Phillips and Cheyenne Saling.
“The four teams headed to Nationals have had an amazing season. The students and the mentors that have helped with these teams have gone above and beyond to field the best robots possible. My hopes are high for an excellent showing at the tournament” said GMS Gigabots Coach, Orion Casper.
Combined, these four teams have won a total of 26 awards this year. Team 2148A has won 4 Excellence Awards and 4 Tournament Championships, including the State Championship. They also set a World Record this year for most points scored within a match at the North Texas Tournament of Champions. Team 2148C has won 2 Tournament Championships, including the State Championship. Team 2148D has won 1 Tournament Championship and Team 2148E has won 2 Tournament Championships. Each team has exceeded the qualification criteria.
Qualification for the 2015 VEX Robotics World Championship can only be attained through qualifying for the state tournament, and then, by awards won at the state tournament. In the Middle School Division, to qualify for the state tournament, a team must win either the Excellence Award or Design Award or been named Tournament Champion at a local tournament. At the state level, a team must either win the Excellence Award or the Design Award. Team 2148A is the only GMS team to qualify for the World Championship this year. Team members include Jordan Frimpter, Trenton Burns, Tessa Mitchell, Austin Burns and Yeonsoo Jung. This team not only were the State Tournament Champions, but also received the Excellence Award, Programming Skills Award and Robot Skills Award at the state tournament. “Team 2148A has had a truly remarkable season. I look forward to seeing what they can do against the best teams from around the world,” said Casper.
The Greenville Sixth Grade Center had three teams qualify for the 2015 VEX IQ Challenge Robotics World Championship. The qualifying teams are:
Team 3148A-Team members attending are Thomas Mattson and José Adame
Team 3148B -Team members are Jaycee Dickson, Joshua Luna, Jovani Rodriguez,
Aranth Ramirez and KD Anderson
Team 3148S -Team members are Jonathan Hernandez, Samuel Martin, Jacob Linden,
Corbin Row and Elijah Wofford
Qualification for the World Championship can only be attained by first qualifying for the state tournament, and then, by awards won at the state tournament. For the Elementary Division, a team must either win the Excellence Award or be named Teamwork Champion at a qualifying local tournament to enter the state competition. At the state level, a team must either win the Elementary Excellence Award or Teamwork Champion to qualify for the World Championship.
Team 3148A has won 2 Teamwork Championships this year, including the State Championship. Team 3148B was invited to the World Championship based on their performance at the state competition. While Team 3148S qualified based upon their overall Robot Skills ranking in the State of Texas. “This was a truly a great year for all the Vex IQ teams at the Sixth Grade Center,” said Cyborgs coach, James Hardaway. “We enjoyed a lot success throughout the year, especially the three teams that are going to world. They have truly worked hard all year for this great opportunity.”
Johnny Tharp, District Robotics Facilitator & Instructor for Grades 1-8, said “To see the elementary robotics program evolve from its creation four years ago to now is amazing. This year, we have 4 robots competing in both the U. S. Open Championship and the VEX World Championship which is an achievement that no other school district in our state has accomplished. This is a testament to the hard work of our students and coaches. To see what they accomplish in the U. S. Open and VEX World Championship this year and for the years to come is exciting.”
For more information about Elementary or Middle School VEX Robotics, please contact Johnny Tharp at tharpjr@greenvilleisd.com.
