Students from Chicago Heights School District 170's Wilson School's "Wilson Warriors" Robotics Team were victorious at the recent Unit 6 – 4H Stem-bot Challenge at Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields.
Competing against elite squads from rival Cook County schools the Warriors earned the championship while garnering trophies in both the Robot Design and Programming categories.
The Warriors designed, built, and programmed their Lego robots to solve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) "real world" problems on a 4' x 8' field.
"I am so very proud of our team's effort, and especially so because our team continues to build on past successes," said coach Joseph Frieders.
"Each year, at every competition, our team continues to impress everyone with their commitment and talent, and represents our district with dignity and outstanding behavior."
The Wilson Warrior robotics team consists of Javitae McMillian, Alan Boyo, Francisco Antunes, Adam Lopez, Breanna Jenkins, Alonzo Avilla, LeAndrew Harden, Marco Ramirez, and Javier Marin.
The team will next compete at the 2019 Illinois 4H Stem-bot Challenge at the McLean County Fairgrounds, in Bloomington Illinois, on Saturday, May 11, 2019, where they hope to improve on last year's 15th place finish.
At the state competition, students will demonstrate robot/computer programming (basic, precision and parallel command strings) along with robot designs to accomplish tasks (e.g., use of gears, levers, etc.). Other areas showcased will include field models to perform tasks, sensors used within a computer program to complete tasks, and teamwork strategies to solve problems.
Wilson Warriors team members shown in the first photo are: Bottom L-R: Javitae McMillian (Gr. 7), LeAndrew Harden (Gr. 6), Javier Marin(6), Alan Boyo (Gr. 6), Adam Lopez (Gr. 5); Top L-R Alonzo Avila (Gr. 6), Marco Ramirez (Gr. 6), and Francisco Antunes (Gr. 6). (Team member BreAnna Jenkins who also competed in the event is not shown)