Having another 'Good Day'

Robowranglers to appear on morning TV show

May 5, 2008
Herald-Banner

By Brad Kellar
Herald-Banner Staff

A group of Greenville High School students, who recently had a very good day by becoming co-winners of a world robotics championship, are expected to be a part of another "Good Day" this week.

The Robowranglers, winners of the recent FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship in Atlanta, are scheduled to appear Wednesday morning on the "Good Day" program on KDFW, Channel 4, the local Fox affiliate.

Officials with the school district said the team is scheduled to appear at approximately 7:50 a.m. Wednesday.

The Robowranglers are sponsored by Rack Solutions, Incorporated, and L-3 Communications Integrated Systems.

The FIRST competition included more than 1,500 teams from the United States and seven other nations.  The Robowranglers were part of a three-team winning alliance that included teams from Sterling Heights, Mich. and St. Catharines, Ontario.

With no instructions, students had only six weeks to build their robots from a kit of hundreds of parts.  This year's game, called "FIRST Overdrive," tested the students' and robots' ability to race around a track knocking down 40-inch inflated Trackballs and moving them around the track, passing them either over or under a six-foot-six overpass.

A total of 37,500 high school students from the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom participated in 41 regional competitions during March and April.  Teams earned their invitations to the Championship by excelling in competitive play, sportsmanship and the development of partnerships among schools, businesses and communities.

Team members include Rae Arnold, Allison Chitwood, Michelle Colwell, Cody Fields, Bethany Follett, Elise Follett, Parker Foote, Parker Francis, Ben Gilbert, Regan Haralson, Ethan Isham, Trent Jones, Katie Kroncke, Austin Lambert, Julie Latimer, Mark Mahrer, Logan Marcum, Zack McClellen, Chris McMurray, Adam Risley, Laura Risley, Charles Wensel and Kaleb Wright.

The team is coached by faculty sponsors Vanessa Pope and Johnny Tharp.  Team mentors include Corey Chitwood, Chris Follett, John Hodapp, Matt Mahrer, Brandon Martus, Steve Maxwell, Kevin Morris, Amanda Morrison, Adam Reppond, Kevin Rodgers, Ken Stroud, Ricky Torrance, John V-Neun, Casey Welch and Monty Wineinger.

Those wanting more information about the Robowranglers can visit the team's official Website at www.robowranglers.com.

Team148.org  |  Robowranglers.com