Robotics heads to Regional Championships

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Lela Hammons

Senior Layton Schleich works on his robotics creation

Emma-Rose Floyd and Alaina Galasso

Robotics won the Toltech Qualifier, also known as the First Tech Challenge (FTC) Alamo Regional competition in San Antonio this past Saturday. All four competing teams won their rounds in the competition. This is the first time that four teams from the same school have qualified for the Alamo Regional Championships at a single event. “I am extremely proud of our teams,” ViperBots Director Rad Allen said. Team 6299 won the Winning Alliance Captain and third place Inspire and were finalists for the Think Award, Innovate Award, Connect Award, and Design Award. Team 4545 won the Innovate Award, Final Alliance Captain and were a Motivate Award Finalist Team. 4546 won the Inspire Award, Control Award, Winning Alliance first pick and were a Think Award and Design Award finalist. Team 6209 won the Think Award, Final Alliance first pick and were an Innovate Award finalist. “Although we qualified four teams, the competition exposed weaknesses in our designs,” Allen said. Two remaining ViperBots teams will compete at the next regional qualifying event on Jan. 17 in San Antonio. Until then the teams will be working to improve their designs and competition execution, overseen by Allen. “Once I heard my team’s name called for the first Inspire Award I knew that all the hours I had put in had paid off,” sophomore Robotics member Dana Faist said. “The future hours will also pay off in the end.”