Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics Team Wins Portage Tourney, 5 Trophies
Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics Team Wins Portage Tourney, 5 Trophies
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Staff Report-
Wawasee Iron Pride Robotics Team Wins Portage Tourney, 5 TrophiesPORTAGE – Wawasee’s Iron Pride robotics team came away with five trophies, including tournament champions, at the Northwest Indiana Region Robotics Rumble at Portage High School Saturday.
A total of 40 teams competed in the tournament, with two from Illinois and the rest from Indiana.
After qualifications, 10 of the 12 teams were selected as alliance partners for the finals. Five teams moved into the quarterfinals from the round of 16, and all five moved into the semis.
Wawasee’s 574C allied with a team from Zionsville and 574D allied with a team from Crown Point to face each other in the finals. This is the fourth tournament in a row where teams from Wawasee were with or against each other in the finals. 574C was declared tournament champion because the team allianced with 574D was disqualified for rules violation, nullifying their score.
The finals included some of the best competition seen this year, according to Wawasee coach Jed Wandland. A rare double-high-park was witnessed for the first time in Iron Pride’s season.
“The most points that can be scored in a match are gained by playing ‘King of the Hill’ on a small platform that is designed to only fit one bot,” said Jed Wandland. “I watched it happened and I could not believe it. Spectators came down from the stands to get a closer look at the double high park.”
Wawasee’s 574H brought home the middle school skills championship trophy. Evan Brower is a team by himself. While he does get assistance from the other robotics teams, Brower has built, programed, competed and drove by himself.
Brower is also part of First Lego League Robotics Team at Milford Middle School. It recently competed in the FLL State Robotics Tournament in Fort Wayne.
“Evan’s work is truly impressive,” said Wandland. “I can’t wait to see what he does in the future.”
In addition to the tournament championship, 574C also won its first design award of the season, an award given to a team that demonstrates the best engineering process at the event. This award is based on an engineering notebook written by the teams and an interview in which teams discuss their process.
They also won the robot skills championship for the fifth tournament in a row.
The Judges Award was presented to 574K, lead by Andrea Mickley. The Judges Award is a special recognition for a team’s exceptional efforts.
Wandland said the team impresses him with more than its team members’ skills.
“The most awe-inspiring thing about our students is their character. They will drop anything they’re working on to help another team in need, even if they’re not from our school,” he said. “The students exemplify everything a competitor should be and that character is being recognized at our tournaments.”
Iron Pride Robotics is on winter break until Jan. 18, when they will compete at the Kalahari Classic in Sandusky, Ohio.
