– Contributed photo
The Walkerville Wildcats Robotics Team, left to right, includes: Andrew Harjes, Skylar Bajtka, Izy Ashbrook, Zander Bajtka and Ethan Schamber. Not pictured: Nathanial Peterson.
Wildcat News is a presentation of Walkerville Public Schools in partnership with Oceana County Press.
ALLENDALE — After launching its first-ever robotics team one year ago, the Walkerville Wildcats finished in 12th place out of 40 teams at the Robotics West Michigan Regional Competition at Grand Valley State University last weekend.
The Wildcats move on to compete at Ferris State University this Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29.
– Contributed photo
“The team had great alliances and was able to end up in 12th place at the competition,” said coach Susan Schwarz, who is a science and math teacher at Walkerville Public Schools. “They were able to be alliance captains in the finals, which was a huge deal for them as a second-year team. They grew as a team and were able to work well together and with such a small team. They all had an important role to play. I enjoyed seeing them accept help from the other teams and step out of their comfort zones in many ways — from talking and strategizing with the other teams to interacting with the judges and other event officials.”
“FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics is a unique varsity sport of the mind designed to help high school aged young people discover how interesting and rewarding the life of engineers and scientists can be,” states GVSU’s web site. “It is a sport where the participants play with the pros and learn from them. It involves designing and building a robot, which is a fascinating real-world professional experience. In this sport, participants compete on stage and game rules are a surprise every year.”
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