Kalahari Classic Win Sends Wawasee Robotics To Worlds
January 21, 2019 at 5:20 p.m.
Kalahari Classic Win Sends Wawasee Robotics To Worlds
By Staff Report-
Wawasee teams 574C and 574D allied together to come from behind and decisively win the tournament championship, according to a news release from the school corporation. 574C scored 48 points in robotic skills, nine points more than the next competitor, taking the robotics skills award.
Wawasee competed against teams from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Tennessee at one of the few events in the U.S. where a direct ticket to Worlds could be stamped.
“Normally Wawasee doesn’t travel this far, but I wanted to give our teams a chance to showcase the level of competition that they’re ready for,” said head coach Jed Wandland. “Wawasee was ready to take on all comers and they made an impression that was felt around the country.”
It was a grueling day for the Iron Pride, starting with an 8 a.m. check-in and ending with the championship win at 11:30 p.m. Friday. This was the most matches ever played in one division at a Vex event in a single day with 222 matches being played in 10 hours. The forecasted snow for the Saturday storm played havoc with the schedule, and the planned two-day event was changed to a one-day marathon.
There were 118 teams gathered at the water park conference center. Wawasee, used to seeing its teams dominate, found the competition to be very good, the release states.
“It’s one thing to compete well in Indiana, but the kids want to win World Championships,” said Wandland. “This was a good test for the Iron Pride’s readiness for a larger competition. Our stronger teams were reminded how important team members are and our up and coming teams discovered they have what it takes to compete at a regional level.”
Only Wawasee’s 574C, 574D and 574N made it into the elimination rounds. Unfortunately, the alliance of 574C and D faced the alliance of 6008B from North Union High School, Richwood, Ohio, and 574N in the first round, winning 25 to 5.
In the quarter finals, C and D dominated 6403A, a five-time Excellence Award and 3-time Tourney Champ (Brookside High School, Sheffield Village, Ohio) winner, and 6008D, a two-time Excellence Award and two-time Tourney Champ (North Union High School, Richwood, Ohio) winning 27 to 5. Semi finals saw C and D win in a closer match with 2011D (Brecksville High School, Broadview Heights, Ohio) and 288A, a three-time tourney champ (Grandville High School, Grandville, Mich.), winning 20 to 13.
The finals were loaded with high-powered robots, pitting number one seed alliance 6403B and 6842Z and two seed 574C and 574D. 6403B is from Brookside High School in Sheffield Village, Ohio. 6842Z is from Park Tudor Upper School from Indianapolis. Wawasee lost the autonomous portion of the match, setting them four points behind with only 1 minute and 45 seconds to recover. However, 574C and D rallied back to a solid win of 23 to 10.
Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics will be home at the Hard Wood Teepee on Saturday at Wawasee High School. There is no cost for admission. Opening ceremonies are at 9:15 a.m., qualifying starts at 9:30 a.m., and finals are at approximately 3 p.m.
Awards:
• Tournament Champions, 574C “Centurion,” Micah Rassi, Evan Rassi, Joe Kelsheimer, Nick Murphy.
• Tournament Champions, 574D, “Immortal,” Cory Dunivan, Noah Beckner, Jack Collins, Wesley Hays, Nathan Smith.
• Robot Skills Champion, 574C, “Centurion,” Micah Rassi, Evan Rassi, Joe Kelsheimer, Nick Murphy.
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Wawasee teams 574C and 574D allied together to come from behind and decisively win the tournament championship, according to a news release from the school corporation. 574C scored 48 points in robotic skills, nine points more than the next competitor, taking the robotics skills award.
Wawasee competed against teams from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Tennessee at one of the few events in the U.S. where a direct ticket to Worlds could be stamped.
“Normally Wawasee doesn’t travel this far, but I wanted to give our teams a chance to showcase the level of competition that they’re ready for,” said head coach Jed Wandland. “Wawasee was ready to take on all comers and they made an impression that was felt around the country.”
It was a grueling day for the Iron Pride, starting with an 8 a.m. check-in and ending with the championship win at 11:30 p.m. Friday. This was the most matches ever played in one division at a Vex event in a single day with 222 matches being played in 10 hours. The forecasted snow for the Saturday storm played havoc with the schedule, and the planned two-day event was changed to a one-day marathon.
There were 118 teams gathered at the water park conference center. Wawasee, used to seeing its teams dominate, found the competition to be very good, the release states.
“It’s one thing to compete well in Indiana, but the kids want to win World Championships,” said Wandland. “This was a good test for the Iron Pride’s readiness for a larger competition. Our stronger teams were reminded how important team members are and our up and coming teams discovered they have what it takes to compete at a regional level.”
Only Wawasee’s 574C, 574D and 574N made it into the elimination rounds. Unfortunately, the alliance of 574C and D faced the alliance of 6008B from North Union High School, Richwood, Ohio, and 574N in the first round, winning 25 to 5.
In the quarter finals, C and D dominated 6403A, a five-time Excellence Award and 3-time Tourney Champ (Brookside High School, Sheffield Village, Ohio) winner, and 6008D, a two-time Excellence Award and two-time Tourney Champ (North Union High School, Richwood, Ohio) winning 27 to 5. Semi finals saw C and D win in a closer match with 2011D (Brecksville High School, Broadview Heights, Ohio) and 288A, a three-time tourney champ (Grandville High School, Grandville, Mich.), winning 20 to 13.
The finals were loaded with high-powered robots, pitting number one seed alliance 6403B and 6842Z and two seed 574C and 574D. 6403B is from Brookside High School in Sheffield Village, Ohio. 6842Z is from Park Tudor Upper School from Indianapolis. Wawasee lost the autonomous portion of the match, setting them four points behind with only 1 minute and 45 seconds to recover. However, 574C and D rallied back to a solid win of 23 to 10.
Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics will be home at the Hard Wood Teepee on Saturday at Wawasee High School. There is no cost for admission. Opening ceremonies are at 9:15 a.m., qualifying starts at 9:30 a.m., and finals are at approximately 3 p.m.
Awards:
• Tournament Champions, 574C “Centurion,” Micah Rassi, Evan Rassi, Joe Kelsheimer, Nick Murphy.
• Tournament Champions, 574D, “Immortal,” Cory Dunivan, Noah Beckner, Jack Collins, Wesley Hays, Nathan Smith.
• Robot Skills Champion, 574C, “Centurion,” Micah Rassi, Evan Rassi, Joe Kelsheimer, Nick Murphy.
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