Nine talented elementary schoolers have proven themselves to be Northwest Indiana’s next world leaders—and they’ve earned bragging rights. Crown Point’s very own robotics teams won big at the Indiana State Elementary VEX IQ Championships in Indianapolis. After facing off with 150 Indiana teams for 60 World Championship spots, each of the three teams snagged an invite to the VEX IQ Worlds Championship in Kentucky.
Made up of students from Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, MacRobotics teams 10277A, 10277D, and 10277E had been prepping for the VEX-IQ Ringmaster challenge since the beginning of the school year. Imagine their excitement for advancing to the Worlds Championship, where they received the chance to compete with hundreds of other teams from around the world!
MacRobotics got its start five years ago, and is currently led by Coach Sara Colvin, who is also their 5th grade teacher, and assistant Dennis Hilburger, a former engineer and loyal member to the community. Team 10277A comprised of Breanna Johnson, Lila Pack, and Julia Valerius. The trio was proud to be representing young girls in STEM, and earned fourth place in their division for Skills Driving. Team 10277A also remained in the top 10 spots for Teamwork Driving throughout the day; they landed third place and earned them an automatic bid to the World competition.
“This accomplishment makes us feel like jumping up and down!” said Pack.
This is Team 10277A second year at theWorld Championship, and as Pack said, it is “absolutely awesome!” Valerius explained further that the camaraderie makes the competition especially fun.
“We all know each other very well, and that just makes Robotics more fun,” Valerius said. “We also like that we can drive a robot, a chance that many others do not get!”
Of course, their hard work to Robotics was encouraged and praised by the team’s dedicated coaches, who, as Johnson said, played an important role in their win and continued success.
“We have awesome coaches, and we think that lead our team to success,” Johnson praised. “A special shout-out to Mrs. Colvin and Mr. Hillburger!”
Team 10277D comprised of Ryland Hochstetler, Michael Lamb, and Gregory Zellers. The bunch really stood out at the state tournament, landing not one, but two awards. Team 10277D also finished in third place for Teamwork Driving, which earned them an automatic bid to the World Championship.
“We’ve been to Worlds twice, now, so we feel satisfied with ourselves!” Lamb said.
Team 10277D also won the “Build” award, which is given to the team with the most sturdy, well-crafted robot.
“We reached success because we all worked together very well,” Hochstetlar said. “We used everyone’s ideas and gave everyone a job, so no one was left out.”
Zellers loved the experience of connecting with so many other teams, a further indication of why his team led the way in teamwork.
“Our favorite thing about being on the Robotics team was probably driving and seeing other teams’ robots,” Zellers said. “We like working with teams from other countries.”
Team 10277E comprised of Simon Kuiper, Joelius ‘JoJo’ Leonard, and Troy Pence. It was the team’s first bid to the World Championship, and it was definitely a memorable experience; they won the STEM Research Project Award. Judges were impressed by the team’s news anchor skit about robot mosquitos injecting humans with a Zika antivirus. Coach Colvin said Team 10277E dedicated many long hours to the research and creation of their project, and that their bid to Worlds was well-deserved.
“Our STEM presentation led our team to success,” Pence said.
Leonard was both excited and proud.
“This accomplishment makes us feel happy,” Leonard said. “We had one of the best STEM presentations!”
Kuiper kept it simple when he explained why he likes being a part of the MacRobotics crew.
“Our favorite thing about being on the Robotics team is building, driving, and having fun,” Kuiper said.
MacRobotics had a blast at the Worlds Championship. Being in the upper half of their divisions ranked MacRobotics in the top 1% of all the teams present. Team 10277D ranked 59th, 10277E ranked 127th, and team 10277A ranked 140th in the world.
With the support of Crown Point Community Foundation, community members, parent and the Douglas MacArthur Elementary staff, MacRobotics will continue to be a driving force in the years to come.
