AL robotics team takes honors at world competition – The Daily Nonpareil

The Abraham Lincoln Black Squirrels will be no more next year.

The high school robotics team will retire its name after the team placed fourth in their division at the VEX Robotics World Competition held last month in Louisville, Kentucky.

Described as the equivalent of making it to the Olympics, the competition invites the best teams from all around the world to compete in six different divisions against 500 other robots constructed by students.

A.L.s four-member team qualified for the competition after placing as a finalist in a regional robotics competition held in March. While this isnt the first time the high school team has competed at Worlds, it is the highest the team has ever placed in the competition, said coach and teacher Justin Heckman.

Historically, weve done very well as a team and our name carries a lot of respect, Heckman said. Last year, we agreed to retire the name if the team did well.

After the team competed in different divisions showcasing their skills, a team from China, who was ranked fourth, picked the A.L. team to work together as part of their alliance.

They got to play against the best. Our team spent a lot of time making sure the robot wouldnt tip over, which made it very reliable, Heckman said. They ended up getting picked by a team from China who had recognized our team as being a high quality team.

The alliance played in a round-robin, tournament style bracket against the top eight alliances. The team ended up placing fourth in the Arts division, beating three teams and losing to two.

With teams from all around the world, Heckman said sometimes there can be a language barrier between students.

The game really transcends the barrier because as long as you have these shapes, pieces and directions then everybody can understand whats going on to communicate about the game, Heckman said.

This years team was made up of four seniors: Dale Fienhold, KayAnne Bryant, Brenden Geer and Tyler Myers. The teams coaches include Heckman and teacher Ryan Higgins.

Bryant, who first joined the team last year, is the teams only girl.

This year was a lot different for me, I got to be a lot more involved, Bryant said. Being the only girl was a struggle at first though.

After she got to be more involved this year on the team, Bryant said, she didnt feel any different from her teammates.

Initially a programmer, Bryant transitioned roles toward the end of the year, becoming the driver of the robot after a member left the team.

Worlds was my second tournament as a driver and it was really cool, Bryant said. It was such a high pressure situation because all the eyes and cameras are on you it was a really cool experience and Im glad I got to do it.

Because the team did so well in the competition, CBS will be at the high school to talk with the students about their experiences at the competition. The special is set to air next month at 1 p.m. on June 11.

As for the teams new name for next years incoming team members, nothing has been decided yet, but one thing is for sure the team will have large shoes to fill.

We try to use names that are a symbol of Council Bluffs, Heckman said. One of our goals, as coaches, is trying to make sure were representing the city well, and showcase it in a positive way.

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AL robotics team takes honors at world competition - The Daily Nonpareil