Ranney School Robotics Teams Win Again

Ranney School Robotics did it again over this past weekend, winning not only another coveted qualification for the State Championship, but also a Team Excellence Award, Chiara Shah, the school’s robotics advisor, proudly reports. Sixteen Upper School students as well as one Middle School student led four robots in the New Jersey VEX Monroe Township Competition on December 7. The state program currently has 105 registered robots; only 40 robots will earn a spot at the State Championships, and only five of those will earn admission to compete at the World Championship in Anaheim, California, in April 2014. Twelve Upper School Robotics students attended the 2013 World Championship in Anaheim.

The December 7 event was the second of six official competitions that Ranney is participating in during the 2013-2014 robotics season. The teams included:

Team 3815A: Led by Raymond Moser ’15 (Shrewsbury) with Ava Papetti ’15 (Colts Neck)This team was ranked third out of 24 robots after the qualifying rounds. Although they lost in the semi-finals (to one of our own teams, Team 3815B), they ultimately won the most prestigious award of the day, the Excellence Award. This award is given to the Top All-Around Team of the competition, and recognizes not only the students who worked on the robot but also the team advisor, mentor, peers and parents for “overall excellence in building a well-rounded VEX robotics program. This team excels in many areas and is a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work, and teamwork.” The Excellence Award also guarantees Team 3815A a spot in the State Championship.

Team 3815B: Led by Brandon Gioggia ’16 (Belford) with Coleen Ross ’15 (Morganville) and Joseph Mullally ’16 (Red Bank)This team was ranked fifth out of 24 robots after the qualifying rounds and went all the way to the final rounds, only to lose in the last match of the day. This was the second time this team has made it to the final rounds and the second time this team has qualified for the State Championship.

Team 3815C led by Amy Winkler ’14 (Manasquan) with Ethan Daniels ’14 (Spring Lake)This team finished 24th out of 24 robots.
TEAM 3815D led by Vasilios Nicholas ’16 (Holmdel) with Zach Sullens ’16 (Holmdel)This team was a strong competitor during the 72 qualifying matches and finished the qualifying rounds in 11th place. They opposed our own Team 3815B and lost in the quarterfinals.

TEAM 3815F (observed the competition, did not compete) with Aidan Denver-Moore, Jillian and Ross Dana Schioppo

Other students in attendance included Jack Fink ’16 (Middletown) (the team’s web developer), Kylie Medlin ’15 (Marlboro) (the team’s artist; she sketches the engineering notebooks), Samantha Chiarello ’15 (Holmdel) (the team’s treasurer) and new team member Benjamin Iglesia ‘17 (West Allenhurst). Eighth-grader Kiran Shah attended as well to help set up and break down the competition field and to observe the proceedings.

The Upper School Robotics Team will next compete on Ranney’s campus on January 11, 2014. Come out and cheer them on!

Related articles:

 - Robotics Team Brings Home Top Awards at Regional Bots Battle (November 2013)

 - Robotics Program Gains Permanent Lab, Equipment and Practice Field

 - Robotics Club Competes in World Championship