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All Seven Ranney Robots Qualify for State Championship

On February 8, 2014, 19 Ranney Robotics students—and seven Ranney robots—participated in their sixth Robotics Tournament of the 2013-2014 season. The tournament was held at the Burlington County Institute of Technology, in Medford, NJ, and included 27 robots from around the state. Our Middle School team won a Judges’ Award on Saturday, and all seven Ranney robots have now qualified to head to the VEX State Championship.

Robots 3815A, led by Junior Raymond Moser (Shrewsbury) and 3815B, led by Sophomore Brandon Gioggia (Belford), made it all the way to the final match, only to lose by one point. (During the final rounds of a VEX Robotics Competition, robots team up in alliances of three robots, which is how two robots ended up together in the finals).

Robot 3815B, nicknamed “Mad Techs,” has been in the final match of every competition in New Jersey this year. Only one other robot in the state has been in every final match: Team 2616B, from Cherry Hill, also known as “Black Tie.” Black Tie has always competed against Mad Techs in the finals, but they have never been together in the same alliance. The two robots are tied, with each robot having won three finals. “We all wonder what might happen at the State Championship on February 22 if Black Tie and Mad Techs end up on the same alliance or if they compete against each other in the last match of the 2013-2014 season,” says Ranney Robotics Program Advisor Chiara Shah. “Whatever happens, it is sure to be an exciting moment!”

After the qualifying rounds this past Saturday, Ranney robots held five of the top 10 positions. In first place was team 3815F, an all-female, freshmen team (see team roster below). Their robot was the only one to go undefeated in the qualifying rounds. “This team is unusual in that all six members of the team think of themselves as equal partners,” says Mrs. Shah. “They do not have a team leader, as most teams have, and use the collaborative features of Google Education apps to plan their schedules, keep notes on their successes and failures, and manage their design progress.” Unfortunately, this team lost in the semi-final rounds.

In sixth place was Team 3815B; in seventh place was Team 3815D; in ninth place was Team 3815G, Ranney’s only Middle School team; and in 10th place was Team 3815C, led by Amy Winkler ’15 (Manasquan). Team 3815C had its most successful day of the season; at one point, this robot was in first place in the competition.

After qualifying rounds, robots go through a selection process to create six alliances of three teams, for a total of 18 robots. These six alliances compete in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. “Because there were so many Ranney robots in the top 10 spots, alliance selection ended up being quite interesting, with four out of the six alliances captained by Ranney teams,” explained Mrs. Shah. Overall, six Ranney robots ended up in alliances for the quarterfinals.

Robot 3815G, built by two Ranney Middle School students, Kiran Shah (Manalapan) and Gerald “Chip” Johnson (Freehold), brought home the only trophy of the day. This was the students’ second competition ever. They earned a Judges Award, a type of award that is given “to a team the judges decide is deserving of special recognition.” The judges remarked that this team was a young team that impressed the judges with their “use of sensors and a unique chassis design that included a mix of two types of wheels with different circumferences.” This mix of wheels was the team’s solution for getting their robot over the 3-inch bump that some robots get stuck on, and that not all robots can even get over. Furthermore, this robot has a unique arm design that can be used to flip the robot right-side-up if it tips over.

During a VEX Robotics Competition, in addition to competing against other robots, teams can compete in individual skills challenges. These challenges involve driving one robot on the field to try to score as many points as possible. The top-ranked skills robots can earn qualification for the State Championship. During the past two competitions (see back story), Ranney robots have been practicing their skills challenges to qualify for States. “This strategy paid off, as we learned on Sunday evening that our remaining three robots, which had not previously qualified for States, successfully earned a spot at the State Championship!” said Mrs. Shah.

With previous qualifications and these new qualifications, all seven Ranney robots will be going to the state championship. The New Jersey VEX State Championship will be held Saturday, February 22 in Cherry Hill, NJ. Come support the winning students as they try to win one of the five New Jersey spots to attend the VEX World Championship in Anaheim in April 2014. Ranney attended the 2013 World Championship (see back story).

The seven Ranney School teams competing on February 8 included:
  • 3815A: Raymond Moser ’15 (Shrewsbury, team leader) and Ava Papetti ’15 (Colts Neck)
  • 3815B: Brandon Gioggia ’16 (Belford, team leader) and Coleen Ross ’15 (Morganville)
  • 3815C: Amy Winkler ’15 (Manasquan, team leader) and Kylie Medlin ’15 (Marlboro)
  • 3815D: Vasilios Nicholas ‘16 (Holmdel, team leader) and Zach Sullens ’16 (Holmdel)
  • 3815E: Dylan Biswa ’17 (Millstone Twp.), Ben Iglesia ’17 (West Allenhurst), Adam Mohammad ‘17 (Middletown) and Nicholas Ross ’17 (Rumson)
  • 3815F: Aidan Denver-Moore ’17 (Bay Head), Grace Hofferber 17 (Rumson), Brittany Hofferber ’17 (Rumson), Dana Schioppo ’17 (Freehold) and Olivia Nisbet ’17 (Monmouth Beach)3815G: Kiran Shah ’17 (Manalapan, team leader) and Gerald “Chip” Johnson ’17 (Freehold, driver).
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