Wawasee Robotics Team Wins Builders Trophy
SYRACUSE — Team 574D brought home the Build Award Saturday, Nov. 9, an award given to a team that has built a well-crafted and constructed robot that also shows a clear dedication to safety and attention to detail.
Speedway Tower Takeover 2019 was a great experience for the Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics team. Wawasee spent two days competing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 55 teams from seven states and Canada.
Teams 574A (3-7), 574G (2-8) and 574H (3-6-1) represented the Iron Pride well in the qualification rounds.
In the finals bracket, third place seed 574D (8-1-1) chose 7701X (8-1-1) from Zionsville and 14th seed 574C chose 574F to ally and compete in the elimination rounds. All four teams faced off in a single match in the round of 16 in a hotly contested sea of green with 574C and 574F coming out on top. 574D’s partner 7701X crossed the score zone barrier, a rules violation, causing a disqualification.
Teams C and F went on to battle their way through the quarterfinals and went down in the semifinals by a narrow margin of just one scoring object, 39 to 43.
Team results:
574D Immortal — Build Trophy, fourth place qualifier, alliance captain, 69th in world in skills — Noah Beckner, Jack Collins, Wesley Hays, Nathan Smith
574C Centurion — 22nd place qualifier, alliance captain, 11th robot skills, 291st in world in skills — Evan Rassi, Taylor Fiedeke, Evan Brower
574F Barbarian — 24th place qualifier, 933rd in world in skills — Vanessa Wright, Jackson Coverstone, Bailey Smith
574H Samurai (middle school) — 42nd place qualifier, 40th robot skills, 306th in world in skills — Charlie Krull, Michael Wippel
574A Amazon — 43rd place qualifier, 41st robot skills, 934th in world in skills — Andrea Mickley, Allison Stookey, Sydni Ewing
574G Iron Knight — 50th place qualifier — Harry Doss
The next tournament is Saturday, Nov. 23, at home at Syracuse Elementary, 12799 N. Kern Road. Opening ceremonies at 9:15 a.m., qualifying starts at 9:30 a.m., finals at 3 p.m., awards and closing ceremonies at 4:30 p.m.
Highlights:
574D — Performed well all weekend and was a standout contender for the trophy. Teams from across the country sought them before the elimination rounds in hopes to form an alliance to win the championship.
574H — Middle school team 574H started day one strong and claimed the first place slot early on in qualifying.
574C — High level game strategy flustered opponents and caused rulebooks to be referenced on more than one occasion. Their aggressive methods paid off in most situations, but also led to a disqualification when a cube accidentally rolled across their opponents protected zone and demolished a tower of blocks
574D — Had more autonomous wins than any other team at the tournament.
574A — Had great energy and enthusiasm, always pushing for their next win. They won the mental game and attained tournament goals.
574F — Played a strong defensive game throughout the tournament. This strategy made them a solid alliance pick for the elimination rounds.
574G — As described by 574G’s builder, he created such a superior robot it rose up against him and attacked him, hitting his head (their teammates robot’s have warning labels).
Wawasee’s roster:
574A Amazon — Andrea Mickley, Allison Stookey, Sydni Ewing
574C Centurion — Evan Rassi, Taylor Fiedeke, Evan Brower
574D Immortal — Noah Beckner, Jack Collins, Wesley Hays, Nathan Smith
574F Barbarian — Vanessa Wright, Jackson Coverstone, Bailey Smith
574G Iron Knight — Harry Doss
574H Samurai (middle school) — Charlie Krull, Michael Wippel