Every Picture Tells a Story.pdf - Township High School District 113

HPHS Robotics Team
For weeks, the Robotics Team and their advisors, science
teachers Jonathan Weiland and Lars Nelson,
collaborated multiple days a week to constantly
alter and perfect an ever-evolving robot they
named “Scimitar”. Coming off a strong performance
at the Illinois State Competition in December
with hardware to show for it, the team was
poised for a strong run at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
First Tech Challenge: Wisconsin
State Robotics Championship. During the final
meetings before the competition, junior Jordan
Kravitz ensured that the robot‟s programming
and controls were calibrated to perfection, while sophomore Michael Schoof and juniors
Adam Hartman, Leo Schwartz, and Alex Spizman made their final adjustments to the
robot‟s innovative catapult and cannon.
Once the competition commenced, the HP Thunderbots came off to a slow start. They
squeaked out a 6-0 victory in their first match due to a failed start by Scimitar. Their second
match also resulted in a win, but gave the team little confidence, as they incurred a
large penalty at the beginning of the bout. Without a solid strategy and bogged down
with mechanical errors, the Thunderbots suffered their first loss in match #3 to a talented
pair of high-scoring „bots. After a rough morning, the team broke for lunch and got to
work repairing the faults that Scimitar exposed. They regrouped for a hopeful afternoon
surge. The focal point of the day‟s events occurred in the team‟s fifth match. After a rousing
motivational pep talk by newly joined junior Evan Deahl, the Thunderbots collaborated
brilliantly with their partner squad to take down the opponent bots. After that match,
the HP robotics team won the remainder of their pool-play matches and stormed from
12th to a 4th place finish. While they fell in the semifinals to the eventual champion of
the tournament, the team experienced an amazing day of highs and lows that one member
aptly summed up as “exhilarating”.
From the problem-solving genius of Michael Schoof and Leo Schwartz, to the meticulous
scouting by juniors Ben Johnston and Ryan Migalla, to the hard work and determination
of the entire team, the Thunderbots joined together to pull off a stunning performance on
one of competitive robotics‟ biggest stages.
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