The Huntington High School robotics team is headed to the world championships in Detroit after finishing near the top at the Long Island regional finals at Hofstra University’s David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex last week.
Huntington Robotics was impressive in the School-Business Partnerships of Long Island sponsored FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) championship qualifier. The Blue Devils captured the prestigious Chairman’s Award, which gave the team an automatic berth in the world finals at Detroit’s Cobo Center on April 25-28.
“We had very high expectations going into the LI regional and we were well prepared,” said team captain Tim Low. “We ran into some minor issues during the competition, but we were able to make tweaks to our robot and strategy, thus enabling us to advance to the playoffs. The competition was tough and we made it to semi-finals, which is respectable. Winning the Chairman’s Award was unexpected and our team was ecstatic. Looking ahead, we definitely have improvements that we need to make to our robot, but like always, I expect us to be well prepared and ready to give it our all.”
Huntington Robotics is advancing to the FIRST world championships for the fourth time in five years, a remarkable achievement for such a young program.
Officially known as FIRST Team 5016, Huntington matched wits with an international field at Hofstra. Teams from across New York were joined by squads from Pennsylvania and Washington, DC as well as from Turkey, China, Canada and Croatia.
Senior John Riley was named Huntington Robotics team MVP.
“The SBPLI competition was incredible,” said chief technology officer John Riley, who was named Huntington’s MVP by officials. “First, I was excited that our team was an early pick during the alliance selection, which advanced us to the playoffs and semi-finals. I was also grateful to be recognized as Team 5016’s MVP. However, winning the Chairman’s Award and heading to FRC’s world championship for a third consecutive year is unbelievable! By far, this is the team’s most meaningful honor because it recognizes all aspects of our program. Every member plays a role in the team’s success and we should be proud. Looking ahead to Detroit, Team 5016 will be ready to further demonstrate our Blue Devil pride.”
Nolan Piccola Led Chairman’s Award Team
Senior Nolan Piccola, head of awards for Team 5016, led the group that successfully developed Huntington Robotics’ Chairman’s Award submission. “I was approached about a leadership role last September, but had no idea what to expect, except that it would be a long few months ahead preparing for the award process. Taking on such a role was a new experience for me. I wouldn’t have done it with any other team. Everyone on our project team was extremely hard working and showed diligence during our meetings. We all wanted our team to succeed at our regionals and it truly showed in the essay, video and presentation we created.”
Huntington has been steadily gathering steam as the season progressed. “The Long Island regional was a big improvement from the Hudson Valley regional a few weeks earlier,” said head electrical technician Luke Eidle. “We made some improvements to our intake that helped us make it to the semi-finals. We’re going to try and make some small adjustments to the intake over the weeks leading up to the world championship so that we can compete at a high level.”
Planning for this year’s competitive season began last June when the team reorganized for 2017/18. Officers were elected and appointed and Team 5016 was off and running.
“Our robot competed well at the regional, advancing into the semi-finals along with two other talented teams,” said chief of business operations Lindsay Saginaw. “However, we are even more excited to have been awarded the most prestigious honor of FIRST; the Chairman’s Award. To attend the world championships three years in a row is no easy feat and I’m incredibly proud of the hard work and outreach our team has done this season. I’m looking forward to traveling to Detroit with my team to compete against some of the best in the world. I know for me and a lot of the team’s seniors, we could not have picked a better way to end our last season.”
Many Ups and Downs at Hofstra
The competition at Hofstra included the expected ups and downs. There were technical glitches to overcome and strategies to debate and implement. Everyone associated with the team had plenty to keep busy doing.
“The regional went well,” said head of statistical strategy Levi Leach. “We had an issue with our intake in some qualifier matches, but we got past it and performed really well during playoffs. World championships is obviously very competitive, but we always try to do the best we can and have fun with it. I’m pretty optimistic about our chances.”
Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky was on hand for the festivities at Hofstra. Along with the Huntington School Board, he has been steadfast in his support for the robotics program, which has also benefitted from a strong parent organization.
“It was a really crazy regional,” said head mechanical technician David Mosden. “After our last competition, we definitely stepped up our level of play a significant amount on the field. After competing very well on the first day, we were confident in our chances to win. There was maybe one dominant robot at this competition and anything could have happened. We put our all in during the playoffs after being a first round pick by the sixth seed alliance and we won the first round with great strategy. Even though we lost in the next round, we were happy with the level at which we competed.”
The team’s faculty advisors are Brian Reynolds and Omar Santiago. Retired teacher Edward Parry volunteers his time with the group. Parent volunteer Jennifer Mosden mentored team members throughout the year and helped them perfect their outreach efforts and impress the judges at Hofstra.
“As soon as we realized we were going to the world championship for the third time in a row, we went crazy,” Mr. Mosden said. “It meant a lot to be recognized for our efforts in the community and getting this senior class to one more world championship was incredible.”
Focused Now on Next Challenge
Team members are already working on the next challenge. “We’re hoping to make some noise in Detroit,” Mr. Mosden said. “We’re all so proud to be Blue Devils and can’t wait to represent the district in Detroit!”
The Chairman’s Award “is the most prestigious award at FIRST,” according to the organization. “It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST.”
“We knew we had a strong bid for the award,” Mr. Mosden said. “Our mentor, Ms. Mosden has worked with the Chairman’s Award team all year and this group of students has put their all into presenting our outreach efforts.”
As is always the case, the competition at Hofstra was nothing short of fierce, making Huntington’s success last week all the more sweet.
“Many teams never get to go to world championships, let along win the Chairman’s Award,” said team vice-captain Matthew Wildermuth. “While we have gone to the world championships in past years, that did not stop us from improving and trying to make more of an impact in our community, making this competition stand out even more in my mind. Our entire team has worked tirelessly all year long, which makes winning the most coveted award in FIRST all the more sweet.”
Excited to Reach FIRST Championships
Every team member is excited to be going to Detroit. “Going to the world championships is amazing because it is very gratifying to see all of our hard work come to fruition,” Mr. Wildermuth said. “However, it is also gratifying to know that our success has the potential to benefit even more people future, giving a great outlet for students to gain professional engineering, business and leadership skills.”
Everyone associated with the Huntington Robotics program is on a proverbial high as the team preps for the championships later this month.
“The chairman’s, drive and build teams will be working hard for these next few weeks leading up to the championships, as we’re hoping to make some noise in Detroit,” Mr. Mosden said. “We’re all so proud to be Blue Devils and can’t wait to represent the district in Detroit!”
Huntington Robotics never “throws in the towel” when the going gets tough as evidenced once again at Hofstra last week. “Although we were ranked relatively low when the quarterfinal matches came to an end, we were chosen for an alliance and advanced all the way to the semi-finals with the help of our new intake mechanism that our drive team built,” said head of promotions Isabella McGinniss. “This being my third year on the team and my third year going to world championships is really exciting. I couldn’t imagine a better way to finish out the final months of my senior year.”
Head programmer Ty Williams, head of CAD (computer-aided design) Katie Riley, safety captain Foster Sullivan, head of marketing Luke Farrell and head of outreach Abby Holmes along with the rest of the team and its leaders have all played key roles in the success of Huntington Robotics up to this point in the season.
The Blue Devils seemed poised to make a splash in Detroit.
