Neah-Kah-Nie robotics team headed to state

Neah-Kah-Nie High School robotics team the Argonauts have qualified to go directly to the state competition on March 9 and 10.

The Argonauts are the first Neah-Kah-Nie team to qualify directly for the competition in five years and won the Innovate award for their unique robot intake design, the “Gecko Grabber.”

Another Neah-Kah-Nie team, the Menacing Muffin Dragons, received an invitation to the Second Chance Tournament in Philomath on February 16 and 17.

The World’s smallest Team received two exemplary marks on their presentation to the judges, finishing in 11th place out of 18 teams.

All three teams were some of the smallest in the competition - and still held their own. All the coaches and mentors were very proud of their accomplishments.

The World’s Smallest Team (TWST) and the Menacing Muffin Dragons got to be an alliance for the first time this season. Chloe overcame her nerves to operate the arm for one match during the competition.

It was a joy to watch Michael’s (MMD) autonomous program with vision sensing work consistently throughout the competition. Alex (TWST) and Josiah (MMD) are amazing at driving under pressure - they never lose their cool even when things get difficult.

To put our league in context - during the first match of the finals against the MMD and their alliance partner the Automated Skeletons - Tobor Tech and ReVamped Robotics (pronounced rev amped) got the second highest score in the United States, fifth highest in the world.

These two teams have the maximum number of team members (15) and having that number of members ensures that they can get more done during the season.

We are hoping to consolidate teams next year - and send fewer teams with more members to be even more competitive next year.