VWHS Robotics team back from Houston

BOB SPATH/special to the VW independent

Now that our robotics team has returned from Houston either by plane or van, I have had a few moments to reflect on our robotics season that began in September with three FTC (smaller robots) teams and ended with our big division FRC Robotics team competing with the best in the world.

It’s a huge accomplishment to be in the top 10 percent of the world among the nearly 5,000 teams to advance to the highest level and to be a part of the FIRST Robotics CHAMPIONSHIP competition. The team had the opportunity to interact and compete with teams from all over the United States and the world, April 20-23. Our best match of the first day was when we led our team to winning against the No. 1 team in our division in our sixth match.

This experience is one of the coolest and most memorable things I have ever been a part of in education. The finals on Saturday had 20,000 people watching in the stands with the atmosphere similar to a sports championship game.

Thank you to all our gracious sponsors, parents, supporters, Vantage Career Center, and Van Wert City Schools who made this season another incredible and memorable one. Thank you to our seniors, Kyle Ferrell, Grace Dowler, Keigen Martz, Ethan White and Josh Reichert. Your perseverance and dedication through some challenging years and focus on always improving and being excellent were critical to the team’s success.

We will forever remember this season and awesome things we experienced together. VW Cougar Robotics will continue to invest in our future, the students in our classrooms and on the team.

Note: Mr. Spath coaches the Robotics team, along with Zane McElroy and Noah Carter.