Laureles Elementary Wins Robotics Competition

by Ronnie Zamora/LFCISD

A Laureles four-peat.

For the fourth straight year, Laureles Elementary captured the elementary District Robotics Competition Saturday at Resaca Middle School.

The team “Robotic Beetles” scored 360 points to place first in the field of 34 teams in the elementary division. Members of the team Monika Acosta, Andrew Bravo, Belen Galvan and Rodolfo Moreno.

Laureles also had the second-place finisher with 350 points, only 10 behind the champion. “The Warriors” team was made up of Bryanna Garcia, Amber Ovalle, Edgar Pardo and Alexander Warrell.

The team was coached by teachers Angela Dunkin and Leo Robles.

Taking third was the “Death Bots” from Villareal Elementary with 330 points. Team members were Ethan Atkinson, David Flores, Luis de Ochoa, and Ryan Torres. The team was coached by Dawn Osborn and Melissa Shafer.

Other results included: Middle School Division (9 teams) – First place: Resaca Middle School “Ridiculousness” Lot Atkinson, Sabian Cardenas, Christopher Garcia, Sergio Juarez. Coach Cristopher Devlin; Second place: Resaca Middle School “AM Gatorbots” Oziel Briones, Ethan Maciel, Javier Mata, Brayden Nordyke, Luis Ramirez; Third place: Liberty Memorial Middle School “Bone Crushers” Eliezer Cedillo, Victor Cervantes, Leo Varela. Coach Suzanne Hall.

High School Division (3 teams) – First place: Los Fresnos United “Make America Great Again” Jayden Ferguson, Arnulfo Limon, Jakob Medina, Christian Montiel. Coach David Burlingame; Second place: Los Fresnos United “The Butterfly” Isaac Flores, Darien Garcia, Corbin Garza, Alexis Luna; Third place: Los Fresnos High School “The Replacements” Catherine Maestro Goodrich, Joshua Salazar.

The district competition is a preliminary meet for the Texas Computer Educators Association (TCEA) Area Competition, scheduled Jan. 21, 2017, at PSJA Southwest Early College High School.

The 2016-2017 TCEA Mindstorms Robotics Challenge is based on the LEGO brand Mindstorms robotics platform. The TCEA’s mission is to improve teaching and learning through the use computers and technology.

This year’s competition was titled “Code 3 – Emergency Drill Prep” and is designed around the theme of an Emergency Preparedness Drill.