This past weekend, the Robowranglers competed at the Dallas Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. Coming off of a win two weeks ago in San Antonio, the team was looking to improve and continue to prepare for the World Championship, held at the end of April. The Robowranglers finished the competition with yet another tournament championship, the Quality Award, and Woodie Flowers Finalist Award, given to Robowranglers coach, Adrienne Emerson. The team will travel on Tues., March 29^th, to compete in the Waterloo Regional in Ontario, Canada.

The competition hosted 43 teams from Texas, Arkansas, Mexico, Brazil, and three teams from China, which shadowed STEM students at Greenville High School on Monday and Tuesday of last week. “While some of our team focused on the goals we had for our robot, most of the team focused on making sure all the Chinese teams had robots that passed inspection and could take the field for all their matches,” said Director of Robotics and Robowranglers coach, Adrienne Emerson. “We wanted to ensure that these three teams had the best experience possible so they left here feeling as passionate about STEM and robotics as we are” she said.

Despite some early electrical problems, the Robowranglers finished the qualifications rounds ranked number three for the tournament. They were selected to form a playoff alliance with the number one ranked team, 2848, The All Sparks, from Dallas, Tex. and team 5057, The RoboBusters, also from Dallas. The alliance went undefeated through the playoffs to become the Dallas Regional Champions.

The Robowranglers also brought home the Quality Award Sponsored by Motorola Solutions Foundation, which celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication. Robowranglers coach, Adrienne Emerson, also received the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award Sponsored by Dr. William Murphy. This award is presented to an outstanding mentor in the robotics competition who best leads, inspires, and empowers their team using excellent communication skills. The award is very prestigious and is only given to one mentor at each regional throughout the season. Each recipient is eligible to win the World Championship Woodie Flowers Award later in April at the World Competition. In order to be considered for the award, students must submit an essay nominating someone from their team, “which made it all the more special to receive” said Emerson. 

The team will leave on Tues., March 29^th, to compete in their final regional competition of the year, the Waterloo Regional, in Ontario Canada. 

The Robotics program at Greenville High School is a successful initiative and tradition of the STEM academy in Greenville ISD. For more information about Robotics at Greenville High School, contact Adrienne Emerson at emersona@greenvilleisd.com.