On Friday, December 2, Penn-Trafford High School played host to Western PA’s inaugural VEX Robotics Tournament of the season. Twenty-nine teams competed, including four teams from Penn-Trafford and multiple teams each from Forest Hills (near Johnstown), North Clarion, Ringgold, Sarah Heinz House, Brentwood, Frazier, and New Castle.
The object of this competition, named “Spin Up”, was to build, program, and drive robots to collect and launch discs into a goal within a 12’ x 12’ playing field. Each 2-minute round began with a 15-second autonomous period for which the teams pre-programmed the robot movements; during the remaining 1:45 team members were permitted to drive their robots via remote control.
The following teams were acknowledged at the conclusion of the Penn-Trafford tournament:
Excellence Award –North Clarion 79163F
Tournament Champions – Sarah Heinze House 3260P & Brentwood 65524C
Design Award – Sarah Heinze House 3260S
Robot Skills Champion - North Clarion 79163F
Tournament Finalist – Penn-Trafford High School 1462C & Sarah Heinze House 3260S
The teams listed above qualified for the Western PA State Championship in March, and all of the Penn-Trafford teams will compete at additional tournaments over the next two months in hopes of also qualifying and improving their robots.
Penn-Trafford team #1462B competes in a match; (Left to right) Joe Turkovich, Noah Moffa, AJ Aquino, and Carl Heller
Penn-Trafford team #1462D prepares for a match (Left to right) Frankie Coakley, Brant Urban, Jessica Graham, and Kolin Ditter
Penn-Trafford team #1462B makes modifications to their robot; (Left to right) Joe Turkovich, Noah Moffa, Carl Heller, and AJ Aquino
Penn-Trafford team #1462A competes; (Left to right) Daniel Bracken, Tyler Heidenreich, and Zach Cassidy
Penn-Trafford team #1462C was a tournament finalist: (Left to right) Alivia Conrad, Ben Pratkanis, and Vince Patalski (missing from photo: Nicholas Yuhas)