On April 22-25, the Greenville High School Robowranglers competed in the 2015 FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) World Championship,  held in the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, MO, home of the St. Louis Rams. The team won third place overall, further solidifying their reputation as one of the top teams in the world.

 “This has been the smoothest season I have ever been a part of and that is truly a credit to the hard work and dedication of the students and mentors. The Robowranglers are a family and now we get to celebrate our success together which makes this year even more special,” said Robowranglers coach and Robotics Program Director, Adrienne Emerson.

 The Robowranglers went into the division finals ranked first in their division out of 76 teams, representing seven different countries (US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, China and Israel). The team won the Industrial Design Award, sponsored by General Motors, which celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge. This is the first technical award ever won at the World Championship by the Robowranglers.

 They selected Team 1114, The Simbotics from St. Catharines, ON, Canada, also sponsored by Innovation First, Team 1923, The Midnight Inventors from Plainsboro, NJ, and Team 900, The Zebracorns from Durham, NC to work with them in the elimination rounds. Local Greenville Company, Innovation First International, not only mentors the Robowranglers, but also mentors and sponsors other teams from around North America, including the Simbotics. Due to their shared partnership, the Robowranglers/Simbotics alliance referred to themselves as #TeamIFI.  

 After seven matches, they won their division and moved on to compete against the seven other division winners for the title of FRC World Champion. “While the alliance was very strong we missed making it to the World Finals by just 1.66 average points, finishing our season by placing 3rd in the entire world. This weekend was the hardest I have ever seen the mentors and students on our team work. We left nothing on the table and have so much to be proud of,” said Emerson.

 This season, the Robowranglers were Finalists at the Dallas Regional competition and won The Excellence in Engineering Award. At the Las Vegas Regional, they were Regional Champions and won the Industrial Design Award.

 Team members for the Robowranglers include: Jake Adel, Will Adel, Stefanie Anthony, Coleman Avants, Kelsey Baldwin, Aaron Lively, Bryan Chacon, Zack Cody, Kaden Denuyl, Katy Dewberry, Rachel Doby, Breanna Evans, Kaylea Evans, Kolton Evans, Kritika Gautam, Hunter Hooten, Ethan King, Madison Kroncke, Caleb Larsen, Jonathan McClellen, Anna Morgan, Garrett Packer, Giovani Pimentel, Michael Pimentel, William Powell, Jonathan Rea, Logan Row, Mayra Ruiz, Alyssa Ruprecht, Nick Ruprecht, Demarius Russell, Austin Sanders, Andrew Walker, and John Wensel

 GISD Mentors: Adrienne Emerson, George Kroncke, Colin Nobles, Linda Wensel

Innovation First Mentors: Corey Chitwood, Grant Cox, Art Dutra, Chuck Glick, Katie Kroncke, Jessi Knerr, Amanda Morrison, James Tonthat, Ricky Torrance, Jay Trzaskos, John V-Neun, Charles Wensel

L3 Mentors: Dave Anthony, Hank Doby, David Evans, Eric Larsen, Justin Griggs, Monty WineingerAbbot

 For more information about the Robowranglers or Robotics Program at Greenville High School, please contact Adrienne Emerson at emersona@greenvilleisd.com.