Mount Ida robotics team tops field at state competition

Mount Ida robotics team wins Beta Club state competition
The Mount Ida Robotics Team won first place at the Beta State Convention held recently. Pictured left to right: Seth Breashears, Ramsey Gilbert, Kyleigh Sigman, Hunter Davis, and Fisher Davis. – Photo by Tilly Davis

DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY/dewayne@mcnews.online

HOT SPRINGS – The Mount Ida Beta Club Robotics Team won their first state title recently at the Arkansas Beta Club Convention. The win qualifies them for a trip to the national convention this Summer.

Beta Club Sponsor Teresa Standridge stated that she is extremely proud of the students involved in the robotics program and what they have accomplished in such a short time.

This year’s competition is only the fourth year Mount Ida has competed in the state convention and marks only the third year the robotics team has competed. 

Standridge shared that the first year was definitely a learning experience, but they improved last year and were able to qualify for the national competition. Not happy with simply qualifying, the team worked hard this past year and was able to win the state competition this year.

The team consists of Ramsey Gilbert, Seth Breashears, Kyleigh Sigman, Hunter Davis, and Fisher Davis. They had to build a robot no larger than a 24 inch square designed to perform specific tasks.

The theme for this year’s competition was Examine, Expand, Extend.

Standridge explained that the competition took place within a 12 foot by 12 foot arena which was divided into quadrants. The robot had to be able to maneuver from one quadrant to another by operating and navigating through gates.

Standridge stated that the thing she is most proud of is that the Mount Ida students were able to beat teams that have dedicated robotics and engineering classes at their high schools, while her students don’t.

Mount Ida Aubry McClure places in state Beta competition
Aubry McClure finished 5th place in the Color Photography Division II at the Beta Club state convention held in Hot Springs recently. She will travel to Fort Worth this Summer to compete in the national Convention. – Photo by Tilly Davis

The robotics team members weren’t the only Mount Ida students to qualify for the national convention competition. Abry McClure placed in the Color Photo category and will also compete in the national competition to be held in Fort Worth Texas this Summer.

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