Torrance, CA (March 5, 2013): Bishop Montgomery's Robotics Club, in only their second year of existence, is quickly making a name for itself in the Los Angeles area. This past weekend, the Robo-Knights, under the direction of BMHS science teacher John Sansalone (Robo-Sansi), competed at the Los Angeles Regionals at Monrovia High School and exceeded their expectations.
The road to the regionals was challenging for the Robo-Knights, who competed in three qualifying tournaments (Claremont HS, Monrovia HS, and Yeshiva University Los Angeles HS) that featured over 100 teams. "With each competition, we steadily improved the design of our robot," explained Sansalone. "We were competing against some very talented, experienced, and well-funded teams."
At the LA regionals, the Robo-Knights were one of 44 teams competing for a spot in the National and World competition held in St. Louis. To improve efficiency, the teams were split into two 22-team competitions in which each team is randomly aligned with another squad and competes against another 2-member team. "This is done to encourage and promote teamwork and 'gracious professionalism'," explained Sansalone. In the competition, each team competes five times, each with a different "alliance" member.
In Bishop Montgomery's five games, they came out on top four times to finish 4th out of 22 teams. The competitions were intense, as the Robo-Knights stayed on the offensive to score points most of the time, while other times they "played" defense for their alliance robot. As one of the top four teams, the Robo-Knights became Alliance Captains for the semi-finals of the regionals, something they certainly did not anticipate.
Unfortunately, the Robo-Knights did not win their semi-final, but they proved that they are a team to watch in the future. "We were amazed, excited, and honored to have advanced so far," explained Sansalone. "I am proud of how far we got and look forward to next year's competition. World, here comes Bishop!"
The Robo-Knights:
Stephen Misak '13
Robert Sonoda '13
Laura Beck '13
Leah Munoz '14
Tim O'Dell '14
Zachary Hayes '15
Brandon Wong '15
Rose Park '15
Kira Coyne '15
Eric Lopez '15
The Robo-Knights:
Stephen Misak '13
Robert Sonoda '13
Laura Beck '13
Leah Munoz '14
Tim O'Dell '14
Zachary Hayes '15
Brandon Wong '15
Rose Park '15
Kira Coyne '15
Eric Lopez '15