Chad Abshire
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON — The Mingo County Robotics Team, the RoboRats—Team 1249, recently competed in the North Carolina Regional held in Raleigh, N.C.
Comprised of students from both Mingo Central and Tug Valley High Schools, the RoboRats were one of three teams to be undefeated after their qualifying matches.
Once the smoke had cleared, the dust had settled and the nuts and bolts from other bots were swept away, the RoboRats found themselves ranked in the 9th and 10th positions out of 55 teams.
Teams from across country participated at the event, including Alabama, New Hampshire, Tennessee and Virginia. Mingo County was the only team from West Virginia that competed. There was even an international team competing, the Netherlands.
This year’s game required the students to build a robot that would fling Frisbees into goals and hands on a triangle tower. The RoboRats withstood the might from other teams and made a run towards victory, but were beaten in the championship rounds.
During the closing award ceremonies, the RoboRats were awarded the Industrial Design Award sponsored by General Motors. The award celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addressed the game’s challenge. Team 1249 effectively played all challenges in the game.
Student Members participating in the Raleigh event were: Mingo Central Team Members — Jack Tilley, Joey Wellman; Tug Valley Team Members — Jordon Mounts, Jordan Kiser. Rick Meade is the head coach and county robotics coordinator.
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