Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, April 12, 2013
Leilehua, Baldwin, Kalani High Schools Finish FIRST in State Robotics Competition
By News Release @ 1:33 PM :: 4682 Views :: Education K-12

News Release from Hawaii DoE

In only its second year of robotics competition, Leilehua High School spearheaded a public school triumvirate to victory at the FIRST Robotics Competition at the University of Hawaii recently. Baldwin and Kalani Schools teamed with Leilehua to topple the top-seeded team of Waialua High, Punahou and Sacred Hearts and earn a spot at the FIRST Robotics Championships in St. Louis, Mo., April 25-27.

The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Competition is a multinational competition that teams students with industry professionals to solve an engineering design problem in an intense, competitive atmosphere. The weekend event, themed the “Ultimate Ascent,” challenged teams to build a robot that would fling a Frisbee, then later, scale a pyramid.

After early rounds of competition, Leilehua was ranked 31st out of 37 teams, but the team demonstrated an ultimate ascent of its own, climbing to No. 3 and earning the right to pick two other teams to join its “alliance” for the final, best two-out-of-three rounds of competition. The Leilehua-Baldwin-Kalani alliance bested Waialua and its alliance with Punahou and Sacred Hearts, 82-71 and 89-56.

The Leilehua Mules include a team of eight students, and three coaches, one of whom is a first-year robotics coach, Harmony Paz. Other coaches include Chris Kawabata and Ian Yoneshige. Leilehua team members are: Ryanne Bateman, Bradley Beaudry, Jay-Ryan Digap, Matthew Edgmon, Kaleb Greenly, Bruyson Markham, Justin Pang and Paulina Reyes.

“We of course didn’t know what to expect, and we certainly did not expect winning the competition and going to the nationals,” says Paz. “It’s going to be an amazing experience for our students to be at what is known as the ultimate in robotics competitions.”

“This school and the community of Wahiawa are overflowing with pride over our students’ accomplishments at the robotics competition,” said Leilehua High Principal Aloha Coleman. “The way they came back during the competition to place third before the finals, then sweeping to victory…those are testaments to the time and dedication our students and teachers have put into pushing their STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) skills beyond their imagination.”

Leilehua, Baldwin and Kalani will be joined by three other Hawaii public schools that qualified for the nationals by virtue of their performances earlier this year. Kealakehe High School will also compete at the Championships, having earned its seed by winning the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Los Angeles Regional and the Regional Chairman’s Award at the Inland Empire Regional in previous weeks. Perennial robotics power Waialua High School will also compete at the Championships after securing its spot with wins at the Boilermaker Regional in Indiana in March. Additionally, Hilo High qualified for a spot at the nationals by winning the Engineering Inspiration Award at the Hawaii competition.

The FIRST Championship is the culmination of the season's FIRST programs, bringing together three separate robotics competitions for the ultimate Sport for the Mind™. The event includes the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship, and the FIRST LEGO League World Festival. Also featured is the Junior FIRST LEGO League World Festival Expo.

###

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT