Robotics Teams Head To VEX World Championship

The Benjamin School's robotics program has once again proved its mettle, with two standout teams headed to the VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas. The teams competed in states this past weekend in Miami and are poised to represent the school on the global stage of competitive robotics later this year. 

Team 33418X has won numerous awards throughout the season and is helmed by Ethan Cave, Kate Hilzenrath, John Lacy, Alex Napier, Ollie Olsson White, and Chris Tighe. This marks both Kate and Ollie’s third consecutive year competing at Worlds. 

The team won numerous awards this year including two Robot Skills Champion Awards, two Think Awards, and The Sportsmanship Award.

“ Team 33418X is in the top 10 percent in the world in autonomous and driver skills out of over 6,400 teams in their division,” said Faculty Advisor and Upper School Innovation Department Chair Debra Perretta. 

“All members of the team contribute to the success of the team. They all work together building the robot, testing the robot, and keeping a detailed design notebook that is an integral part of demonstrating the engineering design process to receive judged awards. The design notebook, along with judges interviews, and scoring qualifies the team for several of the highest achieving awards at each competition,” she said.

Team 33418A, comprising Alex Colucci, Sawyer LeFevre, Chase Odom, Mattias Skantze, Han Tang, and James Tepper, marked their debut season with a standout performance at States where they took home two consecutive Build Awards. 

Peretta said the teams are excited for the competitive venue that Worlds offers and thrilled to be part of the larger robotics community around the World.