Centre County Robotics Team Excels in Competition

STATE COLLEGE — The Centre County 4-H High School Robotics team made it to semifinal round at the recent Greater Pittsburgh Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The team competed against robotic teams from around the Northeast, Midwest and as far as Hawaii and China. After two days of qualification matches, the team had the second highest score among the 40 teams, earning a spot in the playoff tournament.  

In addition to reaching the semi-final round (where the team lost to the eventual champions), the team also took home the General Motors Industrial Design Award for having the robot with the best combination of form and function.

“Going from homeless at the end of last season, due to a renovations at the Penn State Ag Engineering building, to this semi-final finish is truly remarkable,” stated Jason Oakman, CC4H mentor, in a press release.

“We have so many people to thank for making this happen. We couldn’t have achieved this without Channel Communication LLC (WHVL) who donated space in their building and all our major sponsors: ASME (Central PA Section), Ben Franklin Technology Partners, Blatek, Blue Mountain Software, FireOne, Loop Software and TechKnowServ.

We can’t thank them and the rest of our donors enough for their generous funding,” said Bill Jester, CC4H mentor.

Steve Brawley of Ben Franklin Technology Partners said, “We want to congratulate the CC4H Robotics team for a tremendous season. Technology and innovation is vital to our community. If we can get kids passionate about STEM early, it will have a huge impact on economic growth in the Centre Region.”

Team members include Lee Conklin, Park Forest Middle School; Cole Daubenspek, homeschool/State High; Mary Davis, Grier School; Zach Jester, homeschool; Elijah Johnson, homeschool; Griffen Josephs, State High; Matthew Li, State High; Michael Mallison, Delta Program; Alex Mullen, Delta Program; Roger Nagel, Bellefonte High; Jacob Oakman, State High; Connor Price; Ben Servey, homeschool/State High; Lachlan Sneff, State High; Tom Sowers, State High; Thad Valentine, Delta Program.

Based on its score at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional, the team earned an invitation to the West Virginia, Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania Championships on May 27.  In addition to preparing for that event, the team is already busy with offseason planning, including launching of a FIRST Lego League team this summer for students in 4th-8th grade. The team is hoping to build on the success of this season and continue to attract more local students, adult mentors, and sponsors to participate in this STEM experience. 

Centre County 4-H Robotics Team is a local robotics club for high school students. The team competes in several competitions throughout the year. The team also conducts technology classes and participate in outreach events to promote STEM throughout the year. 

Anyone wanting to know more about how to get involved with the club can check out the website, centre4h-robotics.org, or contact centre4hrobotics@gmail.com.