The Greenville High School, Greenville Middle School and Greenville Sixth Grade Center VEX Robotics programs sent teams to compete in the VEX Worlds 2015 Robotics championship in Louisville, KY on April 16-18. GHS team 4148B, GMS team 2148A, and SGC teams, 3148A, 3148B and 3148C each qualified for and competed in the world championship. Greenville Middle School team 2148A went on to make it to the elimination rounds and received one of the highest judged awards of the competition, the Design Award.
Students from all teams, along with their mentors and coaches, have each spent many hours analyzing, brainstorming, creating, testing, and refining their VEX robot. The year started with analyzing the 2014-2015 game, VEX Skyrise. They then took the information and knowledge they gained and came up with a design that they were sure would work. They spent the next eight weeks building their robots while participating in the Greenville VEX League in September and October of 2014. Throughout that time, they have all attended numerous tournaments in the Dallas, Houston and Las Vegas areas.
GHS Team 4148B wrapped up the 2014-2015 season with their qualification for the VEX Worlds 2015 competition. After a season of iteration, the team was happy to see their latest revision succeed in building a seven segment skyrise with the assistance of their alliance partners from all around the world. "The boys on 4148B had a very successful year both in terms of awards and wins but, more importantly, my students won skills and knowledge that I'm sure will come back to serve our economy and community,” said Iron Cowboys coach, Colin Nobles. “I can't wait to see what this freshman crew can do next year as sophomores with the 2015-2016 game,” he said. Members of the GHS Iron Cowboys include Nicolas Hazlett, Xavier Dean, Raymond McClure, Ryan Bakkum, Ryan Garland and Corey Hargraves.
GMS Team 2148A won a total of 18 awards for the season, including becoming the State and National Championships. These wins qualified their robot for the VEX Worlds 2015 competition. At Worlds, 2148A competed against 150 other middle school teams from around the World, split into two divisions. The team finished in 30th place overall with a 5-5 record. They wrapped up their competitive season with one of the highest judged honors that can be received in a VEX Robotics Competition, the Design Award. Members of the GMS Gigabots Team 2148A include Jordan Frimpter, Trenton Burns, Tessa Mitchell, Austin Burns and Yeonsoo Jung.
Greenville ISD District Robotics Facilitator and Instructor (Grades 1-8), Johnny Tharp, said “To see these students and their robot evolve through the year to the point where they won the Middle School Design Award at the VEX World Championship is something these students will remember and be proud of for the rest of their lives.”
The Design Award is presented to a team that demonstrates an organized and professional approach to the design process, project management, time management and team organization. The team awarded this honor should be able to describe how they created and implemented an efficient and productive design process to effectively manage their time, and resources, to accomplish their project goals. “The students hard work this season was validated with the VEX Worlds 2015 Middle School Design Award. This award shows that our students understand this competition is so much more than just building and driving a robot. It is about learning the process that engineers go through to solve the design problems around us every day,” said GMS Gigabots coach, Orion Casper.
The Greenville Sixth Grade Center had three teams qualify for the 2015 VEX IQ Challenge Robotics World Championship. The three SGC teams competed in six local tournaments this year winning four awards. Each of these three teams was a local Tournament Teamwork Champion (3148A in Killeen, 3148C in Greenville and 3148S in Rockwall) while 3148A was also the state Teamwork Champion. Members from the three Cyborgs teams in attendance were Thomas Mattson, Jose Adame, Jaycee Dickson, Joshua Luna, Jovani Rodriguez, Aranth Ramirez, KD Anderson, Jonathan Hernandez, Samuel Martin, Jacob Linden, Corbin Row and Elijah Wofford.
During the 2015 VEX IQ World Championship; the SGC teams competed against teams from twenty-two states and seven countries. Sixth grade is the starting point for robotics students in Greenville ISD to begin competing against other local schools and at the World Championship. With their performances this year, the VEX Robotics program at the Greenville Sixth Grade Center has laid a foundation for other Greenville VEX IQ Teams to follow.
Cyborg Coach, James Hardaway, said “I am very proud of the effort of our teams at the VEX IQ World Championship. They did not quit competing and held their heads high at the end of the tournament. I know these students have a bright future. I wish them the best.”
The Robotics Program in Greenville ISD offers students the chance to learn, and hone in on, math, engineering and interpersonal skills vital to their future education and career. “They have all learned skills that will help them in high school, college and once they enter the workforce. I look forward to see what their future holds,” said Tharp.
The VEX Robotics System was invented by Innovation First International. For more information about the Robotics Programs (grades 1-8) and Pre-Stem education, please contact Johnny Tharp at tharpjr@greenvilleisd.com. For information on Robotics Programs (grades 9-12), please contact Program Director Adrienne Emerson at emersone@greenvilleisd.com.
