Oxford teams bring back the gold in Delaware robotics tournament

Robotics teams from Oxford Area High School and Penn’s Grove Middle School posted outstanding performances at the First State FIRST Robotics Championships held at the Bob Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware on January 30. Sponsored by Dupont as well as several other companies, this regional championship tournament drew 32 teams from several states on the East Coast.

Competing in the Diamond State FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge regional for high school robotics teams, Oxford’s "Team Ozone" brought home first and second place trophies. The students’ hard work, innovative gearing and engineering of their robot (using a clean design that still allowed their robot to complete complex tasks) earmed Team Ozone the first place PTC Design trophy.

Team Ozone was chosen to compete in the finals of the competition as part of a three team Alliance formed by the top ranked team of the day, “Rhode Rage” from Middletown, R.I. Ozone, Rhode Rage and the MOE (Miracles of Engineering) team from Wilmington, DE took second place in the finals, earning the Finalist Alliance Award.

Team Ozone also earned third place in competition for the Innovate Award, which is presented to the team that has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to any or all specific FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) components. This award recognizes teams that think “outside the box” and is the second highest award given at the tournament.

Team Ozone qualified for the Delaware tournament this past fall by taking second place overall and second place for their Engineering Design Journal at the 10th annual Ramp Riot at Wissahickon High School, where they competed against FTC teams from the tri-state area. Team Ozone now heads to a competition in Weatherly, PA in March in hopes of qualifying for the World Championship Tournament in Atlanta, Georgia.

Competing in the First State FIRST Lego League (FLL) Championship Tournament, the Penn’s Grove Techno*MOES earned the second place Champion’s Award, which recognizes the teams that best represent themselves and their school in all eight judging categories at the tournament. If the first place winners are not able to attend the FIRST Lego League World Championship tournament in Atlanta, the Techno*MOES will be eligible to represent the Mid-Atlantic region at that event.

In the competitive events, Penn’s Grove placed first in Innovative Robot Design and second in Robot Performance. In the second category the team scored 370 points out of the possible 400 on the field.

The Penn’s Grove team qualified for the Delaware tournament this past fall by winning a second place trophy in Innovative Technical Design at the Regional Qualifying Tournament held at the Conrad Science Magnet School in Wilmington. The award recognized the team’s construction and use of a mobile bridge for their robot to cross obstacles on the field.

Competing in the First State FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Tech Challenge regional championship for high school robotics teams, held January 30 athe University of Delaware, Oxford Area High School's "Team Ozone" brought home first and second place trophies and a third place award. Pictured front from left are senior Marissa Tomassian, junior Andrew Raffa and sophomores Nick Shaffer, Jon Plystak and Wesley Miriello; standing from left, Oxford Area School District Superintendent Dr. Ray Fischer, junior Ben Graff, sophomores Joe Consentino, Ryan Sperratore and Jeff Holmes, and junior Antonio Cosentino. The team is coached by Mr. Lou Cosentino, assisted by Mr. Mike Shaffer and Mr. Scott Holmes. Below, Team Ozone is shown with their robot after taking second place overall and second place for their Engineering Design Journal at the 10th annual Ramp Riot held at Wissahickon High School last fall.

The Penn’s Grove School FIRST Lego League (FLL) team, the Techno*MOES, competed in the Diamond State FLL Champions Tournament held January 30 at the University of Delaware, placing first in Innovative Robot Design and second in Robot Performance. Pictured front from left are seventh graders Karry Nusbaum and Alex Coleman and Hopewell Elementary School fifth grader Riley Milligan; standing from left are Penn’s Grove Principal David Hamburg, eighth graders Mark Tomassian, Steve Miles and Tyler Milligan, and Oxford Area School District Superintendent Dr. Ray Fischer. Below, the team and coach Mr. Guy Tomassian celebrate after winning a second place trophy in Innovative Technical Design at the Regional Qualifying Tournament held last fall at the Conrad Science Magnet School in Wilmington, DE.