Avondale High School Robojackets Win First Place in Robotics Competition

Avondale High School RoboJackets Kick Off Robotics Competition Season with a 1st Place Win

The FIRST in Michigan robotics district series kicked off a season of competition at Southfield High School where the Avondale High School RoboJackets took 1st Place and earned the “Excellence in Engineering Award” for the design of their robot’s claw intake.

Team photo of the RoboJackets all in matching t-shirts

Avondale RoboJackets display their hardware after taking 1st Place at the Southfield High School FIRST in Michigan robotics competition.

The RoboJackets went 11-1-0 during qualification rounds and finished as the number one seed out of forty other teams. Following qualifying rounds, teams choose an alliance to enter into for playoff competition. The RoboJackets chose the Killer Bees from Notre Dame in Auburn Hills and the RoboTractors from Fordson High School in Dearborn. The three-school alliance swept the playoff bracket going 6 – 0 to win the Southfield High School District Championship.

Eighteen high school students and nine mentor/coaches make up the RoboJackets, currently ranked #1 in FIRST in Michigan competitions for performance points earned during the Southfield contest. The students, Richard Zhovner, Ryan Feng, Yashar Sadaghiyani , Gaurav Kaul, Madeleine Bahorski , Noah Baliat, Nathan Dowden, Adam Passalacqua, Evan Elliott, Cameron Carey, Robert Dix, Samantha Mott, Diana Passalacqua, Alyssa Goff, Ryan Darovitz, Richard Feng, Kimber Rhodes, and Laura Fernandes, range in grade level from freshman to senior with varying years of participation in robotics. All have a level of commitment that is difficult to match as the team keeps a demanding build, practice, and competition schedule while the students maintain exceptional grade point averages.

Mentor/coaches including Ken Abbott, Allison Kneisler, Adlai Milbitz, Ty Gallagher, Peter Bonucci, Steve Logan, Dereck Wonnacott, Alex Zettler, and Nick Kaltsounis also commit to the team and the students as evidenced by the amount of time spent assisting the students not only academically or with technical issues but also with social emotional growth. The mentor/coaches are all community volunteers with some relation to a STEM-based industry. They bring expertise, resources, sometimes funding, and always their time.

FIRST, founded in 1989, is an international organization developed for the purpose of inspiring students in the fields of engineering and technology. It provides students the opportunity to explore their interests in STEM-based disciplines while working with and learning from professional engineers. In addition to the FIRST Robotics Competition, the organization also operates FIRST LEGO League, Junior FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge.

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Comments

  1. Rent Reporter says

    Thank you very much!

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