The Winfield Middle School Robotics team competed in the National Robotics League National Championship in California, Pennsylvania on May 18-19.  The middle school had three teams compete in the regional tournament at Olathe Northwest High School in April.  The Kansas Department of Commerce provided a grant to support this program for two years and Rubbermaid provided their Industry support.

One of the three teams, driving a robot named Athanasios (a greek god of immortality), went undefeated to take the field of 28 teams at the regional event in April and were invited to Nationals.

The team was composed of Justin Smith (Driver), Mark Thompson (Mechanic), Corden Fullhart (Mechanic) and Braden Dillon (Mechanic) along with Christy Reams (Instructor), Kait Pressnall (Vice Principal) and with Rubbermaid-Technical advisors Brad Kimmell and Jeff Wilson.  The Winfield team was the youngest team in the field of competitors.

The National event brought 70 teams together at California University in California, Pennsylvania.  High Schools and Universities were represented in the field.  The Winfield team was prepped, ready and passed their safety checks on Friday during check in.

“It was so inspiring to see Brad and Jeff teaching and working with our four boys.” Christy Reams, WMS Robotics Sponsor stated, “It was the perfect example of the growth that can happen in a setting outside of a traditional classroom. When students are given a problem, or in our case multiple problems, and are asked to work together to overcome it, it is amazing to see how they are able to accomplish it and the confidence that instills.”

The fighting format allows for a 3 minute battle unless one of the robots can no longer move.  Judges decide who wins based on aggression, control and damage if there is not a knockout.

In team Athanasios’ first bout, they faced a High school team from Ohio driving Andromeda.  The opposing robot delivered a massive blow immediately flipping the Winfield robot.  The Winfield robot was still able to move and activate their weapon.  Andromeda lost some critical wiring contacts when they delivered the blow causing them to be unable to move.  This turned into a knockout for the Winfield team.

During the second bout they faced last year’s champion robot, Eli.  This did not go well for Winfield. Eli delivered another massive blow and was able to get the win.  Anathosios was now beginning to show some serious damage.

The third bout was in the consolation bracket.  They faced a community college team driving, Torxus. Their coach told Wilson, “He was going to give his team a lot of grief if they lost to the middle school,” unfortunately for them this came true and Winfield got the win.

Athanasios took on high school bot, Booker T, during the fourth bout.  The Winfield robot continued to degrade from the battles, with only one drive wheel, Smith was still able to continue to outdrive the competition and get the win.

The fifth and final bout against Punxsutawney area High School was a spectacular finish for the Winfield teams run at Nationals.  The opposing robot delivered a massive blow that split the out shell of the Anthanasios’ and knocked the battery out.

WMS Principal, Kaitlyn Pressnall stated, “The experience was amazing!  The teamwork between the four WMS students and Brad and Jeff from Rubbermaid was incredible to see firsthand.” 

The team learned a great deal about and repairing their robot and working as a team.  Other than a few minutes of fighting, the time spent at Nationals was spent straightening, replacing parts, repairing threaded holes, and getting the assembly to work correctly.

“The group of kids involved are likely future Scientists and Engineers,” concluded, Jeff Wilson. “They were able to apply practical skills within this program and the program has been a great success.