Months of hard work finally paid off on December 6 for John Jay Robotics teams MOB, Vulkan, and Screw Ups as they showed signs of success at State Qualifiers. Each team demonstrated standout performances, earning Qualifier placements of 8th, 10th, and 12th respectively.
The First Tech Challenge qualifier at John Jay East Fishkill, is a prime opportunity for teams to showcase their skills, and John Jay Cross River did just that. The event brought 28 competitive teams together from across the region to compete head-to-head for a spot in the State tournament later this school year. Not only did the teams demonstrate technical skill on the field, but they also impressed judges during interviews, helping them earn awards or runner-up honors. In the qualifying matches, three teams stood out: MOB captained a playoff alliance as a top seed, while Vulkan and Screw Ups impressed other teams enough to be drafted into playoff alliances, competing for the championship.
MOB had the strongest qualifying performance of John Jay’s robotics teams, earning an 8th-place finish in the qualifiers and the captain spot of Alliance 6 for the playoffs. This success didn’t come without challenges, however. The team faced technical issues with their robot both in the days leading up to the competition and during matches.
Despite disconnects that sometimes lasted up to a full minute in the two-minute matches, MOB creatively used available materials to overcome these obstacles, demonstrating impressive engineering skills (under pressure no less)! The team also had to adapt to member challenges: their main driver, TJ Panek, was out sick, requiring less experienced driver Matt Mendez to step in and rise to the occasion.
MOB’s coders, juniors Kishen Kathuria and Keira Coffey, were participating in their first year of the program, but put in countless hours of work to make up for their lack of prior experience. Looking ahead, MOB is optimistic about the rest of the season. Keira said, “I think we can be successful,” while Kishen added, “We can really make it to States and even a Worlds run.”
Vulkan Robotics also had a strong performance at the qualifiers, earning a 10th-place finish, which resulted in their draft by the 4th overall team and their advancement into the semifinals in the playoffs.
Beyond their placement, Vulkan stood out for their high-scoring matches and impressive coding skills. Their performance wasn’t without challenges, as unlucky matchups and inconsistent autonomous routines kept them from placing higher.
Junior coder Noah Goldberg noted, “Our auton is a little bit unreliable… our shooter sometimes is a little inaccurate, so that’s what we’re going to improve on.”
Despite these obstacles, Vulkan impressed the judges with their innovative use of cameras and automation to minimize human error, earning them the Connect Award, a prestigious recognition for teams that use programming and sensors to significantly boost a robot’s performance. This award was a testament to the team’s technical skills and an exciting indicator of future potential. Looking ahead, Noah expressed confidence in the team’s future, even stating “We are guaranteed going to states.”
Screw Ups might have placed the lowest of these teams at 12th place, but they looked just as impressive. Being drafted by the 7th overall team, they earned a spot in playoffs by showing off their advanced, and reliable autonomous routine. The team’s success was a direct result of their dedication, with senior builder Calvin Wein hosting a late-night coding session at his house the night before the competition to give their coders enough time to perfect the autonomous code.
Parker Whitney, a senior driver and coder for the team, mentioned that they weren’t without hardships, as battery and disconnect issues plagued the team during early matches. However, they were able to fix these by spending their free time during lunch diligently working on the bot. This hard work paid off as although they didn’t advance to states, they were able to take first place for the Innovate Award, a prestigious recognition for teams with a creative and ingenious design. This award demonstrated the team’s character and highlighted their technical ability. Parker reflected on the competition stating that it was “a 100% success. It was the furthest Screw Ups have ever gone… I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Robotics teacher and coach Jonathan Peter took time after the competition to reflect on the team’s performances and was left feeling both frustrated and hopeful for what’s to come. He is truly the backbone of the robotics program, and the team’s performances impact him greatly. He expressed that “It was a little disappointing that we didn’t qualify but I feel like it’s that frustration and that closeness to success that really can be motivating”.
Despite no teams qualifying here Mr. Peter still has high hopes for the teams and when asked if he believes that his teams will be successful, he stated “I really do… I think it is very likely that the bots will be successful.”
Mr. Peter likes to focus on not only the robots, but the teams themselves. He believes that there is no successful team without successful kids and that the skills the kids are learning go far beyond the success on the field. Interestingly, when asked about what he hopes to happen going forward, he wished for success in a different way than just on the field. He said, “My hopes for the program are that we continue to have a program that inspires kids and teaches kids that hard work and dedication and creativity yield good teams, and good teams yield good robots.”
With the next qualifier taking place January 17th, teams have their work laid out for them. Teams have already started planning their next steps and started refining their bot as they hope to advance to States. If the results from the John Jay qualifier are any indication of what’s to come, these teams are in a great spot for continued success throughout the remainder of the season!
