The Seymour High School robotics team competed in the Indiana Office Of Technology Robotics VRC Blended Invitational Tournament on Saturday in Indianapolis. Front from left are Keigan Miskell, Nikita Cox and Ethan Rubin. Back from left are Kirby Tormoehlen, Leo Holle, Kellan Stanfield, Gavin Burnside, Kayla Baker, Gabe Seabolt, Micah Yee and Noah Chambers.
Submitted photo
Seymour High School’s robotics team competed in the Indiana Office of Technology’s first Robotics VRC Blended Invitational Tournament on Saturday in Indianapolis.
Thirty teams from around the state competed.
That included SHS Team 31330B, consisting of Leo Holle, Jaxson Vires, Kirby Tormoehlen, Keigan Miskell and Miguel Anderson, who ranked fifth in the first round and lost in the quarterfinals 129-94.
Team 31330C, Kayla Baker, Nikita Cox, Gavin Burnside and Kellan Stanfield, ranked 27th in the first round and lost in the Round of 16 173-111.
Team 31330D, Micah Yee, Ethan Rubin, Noah Chambers and Gabe Seabolt, ranked 12th in the first round, won in the Round of 16 87-41, won in the quarterfinals 28-0 and then lost in the semifinals 100-67.
“I am so proud of all the teams for their hard work and dedication,” SHS coach Amy Jo Kuzel Miller said. “They continue to beat their best tournament and skills scores each match. The one thing that stands out about our team over so many others, that as a community we should all be proud of, is their high-level professional sportsmanship. Our Seymour Robotics Owls have class and proper etiquette.”
Coach Jamie Baker said she was so impressed with the perseverance and professionalism shown by each SHS team through more than five hours of matches.
“They strategize with other teams to form alliances, explain complex design processes to event judging staff and improve their robot control match after match,” she said. “I also appreciate the support of so many parents that helped us travel, kept us fed and cheered us on all day.”
Miller said Team 31330D showed off new updates to its autonomous programming, resulting in a season-best skills score of 230 points.
“They also showed a mastery of the competition rules during a hotly contested judges’ decision that ultimately secured them a spot in the semifinals,” she said.
Yee said despite ups and downs, the tournament was a great experience.
“We had a rough start, losing two of our three matches. After this, we turned it around. … This put us in 12th for teamwork,” he said. “As far as skills, we had a rough start with our first try failing. With some adjustments and a quick prayer, we got our all-time record of 133 on a programming run. Our final skills score was 230, putting us in fourth.”
They made a last-second alliance with a team and made it all the way to the semifinals, where they lost a great match.
“In the Round of 16, we dominated, winning by more than 30 points with a new strategy,” Yee said. “In the quarterfinals, there was a dispute over a tipping call. We kept our cool and encouraged our alliance partners to do the same. We ended up winning the dispute and the match with it. We are super proud of our performance and excited to compete again in March.”
Miller said Team 31330B stayed near the top of the rankings all day, winning five out of six qualifying matches.
“This team of first-year robotics students is hitting their stride at the perfect time this season,” she said.
Team 31330C fought against hardware problems all day, but Miller said this veteran team continued to meticulously troubleshoot.
“The team was able to replace damaged wiring with just minutes to spare before their final match and recorded their highest score of the day,” she said.
“We are all excited to see more updates and improvements before their final tournament of the regular season next month,” she concluded.