Rise of the machines; Local robotics’ teams heading to state robotics tournament
Published 10:32 am Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Sam Parks, from left, Seth Wagner and Oliver Andersen, members of the Mysterious George Team compete during the Robotics VEX competition Saturday in Packer Gym. Herald file photos
More local students will get the chance to put their robots to the test at the state level.
Three teams from I.J. Holton Intermediate School, two Austin Home teams, one team from Southland School District, and two teams from Ellis Middle School will head to St. Cloud on Jan. 29 and 30 to compete in the Dream It. Do It. Minnesota State VEX Robotics Tournament.
“They’ve had some challenges over the course of this season,” I.J. Holton coach Kaylene Jensen said. “ … They’ve really had to overcome a lot to get where they are now so it’s really exciting to see where they’ve come now.”
More than 200 students competed at the Dream It. Do It. Southern Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament on Saturday held at Austin High School. Thirty-six different teams from 16 different schools and organizations competed throughout the event, which was hosted by Riverland Community College. Through this competition, all three I.J. Holton teams, the Southland team and the two Austin Home teams qualified for state, where they will compete for invitations to the World Championship Competition.
The competition required middle and high school students to execute the VEX Robotics Competition game “Nothing But Net,” applying their knowledge of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Several awards were also given out to the teams.
Members of the VEXcellent Eagles, Lukas Wolfe, from left, Ryan Hansen and Riley Haugen wait in the staging area before competition Saturday at the Robotics VEX competition at Austin High School.
The I.J. Holton Team 8440A earned a state invite for its state standing in the skills challenge, Team 8440B earned a state tournament invite and a U.S. Open invite in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in April for being the Programming Skills Champion at the Austin tournament on Saturday, and Team 8440C earned a state invite for its skills challenge state standing.
Last year, both I.J. Holton teams made it to state as well.
“They’ve put in so many hours, we’ve done a lot of late nights, a lot of weekends, so many things,” Jensen said. “They were working hard and I kind of anticipated this would happen. So it was good to actually have it happen.”
Ellis Middle School Team 8452B received special recognition through the Judges Award. Since both teams had previously made it to state — the seventh-grade team in October and the eighth-grade team on Jan. 9 — they focused on strategy and having fun during the competition instead of the pressure to make it to state.
Paula Mortenson was excited when her Southland High School team qualified for state.
“They’ve put in so many hours and worked so hard, I think when they got word they qualified for state, they were super excited,” she said. “It just kind of puts all of that into perspective.”
The students are excited as well, and Mortenson said they were already working out strategies for the big match.
“It’s one more layer added on,” she said. “First it shows after all their hard work why it’s important to be dedicated to something. Second … it just is one step closer to getting them exposure to unlimited future things. It’s just awesome, it’s just mind-blowing.”
She said robotics is a great way to teach problem solving and critical thinking and other beneficial skills.
Arik Andersen’s Mysterious George team — which is two teams, 8091 and 8091B — qualified during the competition last weekend as well. The teams consist of homeschool students as well as Austin High School and Ellis Middle School students. One team qualified as they were a finalist in the competition, and the second team qualified during the skills tournament. Andersen’s teams meet at his home regularly, where they have turned the living room into a makeshift rink.
“I’m really excited to go to state, especially that both of my teams qualified,” Andersen said. “We had a great time at the competition in Austin working as both teams together.”
I.J. Holton Intermediate School students Carson Hjelmen and Izzy Hemann tell judge Coby Cost about their robot in the pit area Saturday during the Robotics VEX competition at Austin High School. Hjelmen and Hemann were members of the Holton Engineers A team. Herald file photo
He hopes Austin will host a competition again in the future, as it was a great way for students to learn and grow. He was excited to see his students plan something out and work through it to reach their goal. Andersen said robotics gives kids a look at the future of the working world and how each person effects the team.
“The students have pressure on them that’s hard to manufacture that kind of pressure, that situation for them to have to compete under,” he said.
“I just think it gets them ready for the future work world,” he added.
Each team thanked their sponsors for supporting the team and helping them get to the competitions and state. The coaches agreed their students have worked hard to get where they are.
“These kids are dedicated and they work hard and they mean business,” Jensen said.
The Dream It. Do It. Southern Minnesota VEX Robotics Tournament was one of several qualifying tournaments for the Dream It. Do It. Minnesota State VEX Robotics Tournament sponsored by 360 Manufacturing Center of Excellence and Dream It. Do It. Minnesota. To learn more about Dream It. Do It. Minnesota, visit www.dreamitdoitmn.com. To watch the state competition on Jan. 29 and 30, visit www.twitch.tv.
