Host VWHS robotics teams do well at robotics contest

02/03/2020

Judges and others watch a competition during Saturday’s FIRST Tech Challenge robotics qualifier held in the Van Wert High School gymnasium.

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

The Van Wert High School robotics teams did well in Saturday's all-day 2020 FIRST Tech Challenge
robotics qualifier held in the VWHS gymnasium.

A total of 23 teams from Ohio high schools competed in the local competition, including the two
VWHS teams: Cougar Robotics and Van Wert Robotics.

Van Wert's second-year team, Cougar Robotics, led by seniors Zane Fast and Elizabeth Tomlinson,
captained the winning alliance team that included the JAIL Breakers team from Fort Loramie High School and the Broken Axles team from Toledo. That team beat out an alliance led by the other VWHS team, Van Wert Robotics, captained by seniors Ryan Chen, Nick Carter, and Sydney Miller, that also included the We will Bot You Team from Coldwater and the Party Pandas team from Sylvania.

Bob Spath, who with Zane McElroy coaches the VW robotics teams, noted that entries were lowered a bit this year, largely because regional competitions increased from seven to 10 in 2020, giving robotic teams more events at which to compete, but lowering the number of competitors at most events.

The Party Pandas team won the top Inspire Award, which is given to the team that is the best role model for the competition. Other award winners are as follows:

Think Award - The NUTS team from Cincinnati
Connect Award - Scientific Touch from Mason
Collins Aerospace Innovate Award - Broken Axles team from Toledo
Design Award - Scarlet Scavengers team from Mason
Motivate Award - New Bremen Techno Birds team
Control Award - We will Bot You team from Coldwater

The Van Wert teams, as hosts of the competition, were not eligible to win any of the special awards.

Two robots attempt to complete the challenges on one of the two competition courses set up in the VWHS gymnasium.

Other teams competing in the event included the BLHS Reach team from Bellefontaine, Higgs Bosons team from Springboro, the Smoking Motors team from Toledo, the WASA team from Wapakoneta, the AZTECHS team from Dublin, the Next Nova team from Sylvania, the EagleBots team from Oregon, the New Bremen Bionic Cardinals, the Trial & Error team from Lodi, the Centipede team from Solon, 3D Robotics from Ada, the BRAHMI Bots team from Mason, and the Eagles Robotics team from Dayton.

Sponsors for the event were Central Insurance Companies, Alliance Automation, APT Manufacturing, Van Wert Federal, First Federal of Van Wert, Vancrest Health Care Centers, and the University of Northwest Ohio (UNOH).

According to Spath, next up for the two Van Wert teams is the state championships in mid-March.