The Robowranglers attended the FIRST Robotics World Championship this weekend in St. Louis MO. The team was celebrating their 25th season, making them one of 6 teams in the world that have been a part of FIRST Robotics every single year since it started in 1992. This year, 3130 robotics teams from 24 different countries competed in 126 regionals around the world. 600 of those teams qualified for the world championship throughout the season. The Robowranglers had an exceptional season and won third place overall at the World Championship, as well as winning the World Championship Industrial Design Award.

 

The Robowranglers also had a successful regional season, winning the Alamo Regional, the Dallas Regional, and named semi-finalists at the Waterloo Regional in Canada. The team also took home an Industrial Design Award and two Motorola Quality awards throughout the regional season. “We have worked since June of last year preparing for this event, and it showed on the field,” said Robowranglers Coach, Adrienne Emerson.

 

The 600 teams at the event are split into eight divisions and the winners of those divisions move on to battle each other for the world championship title. After qualification rounds, the team had a record of 9-1 which was enough to rank the Robowranglers number one in the Hopper division. The Robowranglers chose team 1678, The Citrus Circuits, from Davis, CA, team 364, Team Fusion, from Gulfport, MS, and team 2990, Hotwire, from Aumsville, OR, to join their alliance. The alliance went 6-0 through the elimination rounds, setting a world high score of 270 points along the way. The alliance was named the Hopper division champions and moved on to the Einstein finals against the other division winners.

 

The alliance won the first round of playoffs, but were defeated in the second round, by the alliance that would go on to become the World Champions after three very close matches. For the third time in four years, the Robowranglers finished the World Championship in third place.  Their finish ranks the Robowranglers among the top 0.5% of teams in the world this season, as well as ranking them as the  top finisher in the state of Texas.

 

On top of their third place win, the Robowranglers’ robot, Renegade, scored the most balls in one match by a single robot in the competition. The team also won the World Championship 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 second year in a row that the Robowranglers have won this award at the World Championship.

 

“I couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome of the weekend,” said Emerson, “The high level that the team performs at every year is nothing short of world class. The hard work, and hundreds of hours spent in the shop puts us in a position to be this competitive every year. I'm so happy for the students and mentors that now get to celebrate these accomplishments after months of preparation,” she said.

 

Robowranglers team members include Will Adel, Stefanie Anthony, Coleman Avants, Alex Bahm, Kelsey Baldwin, Martin Castillo, Zachary Cody, Aaron Coyle, Kaden Denuyl, Rachel Doby, Hannah Escobado, Breanna Evans, Kaylea Evans, Kolton Evans, Kritika Gautam, Hunter Hooten, Gavin Jordan, Yeonsoo Jung, Ethan King, Madison Kroncke, Caleb Larsen, Jordan Mabrie, Ethan McGee,  Brett Ozarowski, William Powell, Carlos Riveroll, Logan Row, Nick Ruprecht, Austin Sanders, Aidan Smith, Katie Tolly, Reese Tubbs, Andrew Walker,  and Kacie Weeks.

 

Mentors from Greenville ISD include Adrienne Emerson, George Kroncke, and Colin Nobles. Mentors from Innovation First include Grant Cox, Art Dutra, Adam Freeman, Katie Kroncke, Jessi Knerr, Dan Mantz, Ricky Quinones, Dillon Row, James Tonthat, Jay Trzaskos, and John V-Neun. Mentors from L-3 Mission Integration include Hank Doby, David Evans, John Hodapp, Eric Larsen, Justin Griggs, and Monty Wineinger. Mentors from Abbott Industries include Kevin Morris and Adam Risley. Robowranglers community partners include Marc Wensel.

 

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