Pope John excels in regional robotics competition

Sparta - Team Lionheart’s rock-solid performance at the exciting FIRST Monty Madness competition resulted in another trophy for the rack. The three-year-old robotics team recently became nationally known for their participation at the National Championships in Atlanta, Ga., in April, and decided to set their sights on a more local level on Saturday, May 27, at Montgomery Regional High School in Skillman. Team Lionheart is #1302 in the international engineering competitions of FIRST (“For the Inspiration of Science and Technology”). FIRST offers students hands-on experience in the technology domain in the form of exciting competitions. Distressed by the low output of American engineers and other related professionals, Dean Kamen, an American entrepreneur and inventor, founded the organization in 1992. Answering the call for Pope John, Sabrina Varanelli, current president of Team Lionheart, started the team three years ago. The team, now made up of 35 students and 10 dedicated mentors, is on its way to becoming a powerhouse at regional and national competitions for its fourth season next year. FIRST robotics competitions change annually and Team Lionheart was challenged by the “Aim High” theme this year. The venue was Montgomery High School’s gymnasium, where two three-team alliances participated in two-minute and 10-second matches in a series of four periods. To score points, each robot must transport sport balls into goals on the ground or shoot in their respective center goals. The team with the highest points wins and proceeds in a ladder-style system, ending in the intensely contested finals. All FIRST competitions combine the excitement of a sports event with human science and engineering ingenuity. Eddy Deacon, a junior team leader, led Team Lionheart in an impressive performance. After several consistent victories in the preliminary rounds, the team advanced to the finals. Commanded by Tim Cavanaugh, Eddy Deacon, Ryan Norris and Eddy Yu, they won the first elimination match, but later ran into problems. A ball jam issue and a blind alliance partner resulted in a finalist trophy. Vincent Frascella, a production test manager at BAE and mentor of the team said, “This is the best tournament we have participated in and I am quite pleased with our accomplishment. The students are just plain excellent and their dedication is certainly worthy of compliment.” “I really look forward to next year,” said Jen Dean, another junior team leader. “The team got a feel for competing at the national level this year and this summer we’ll start getting ready.” Team Lionheart is always looking for mentors and sponsors, and will have their own booth at Sparta Day on June 10 at the Mohawk Avenue School. All are welcome to participate in the robotics demonstrations, and further information about the team and FIRST will be available. Matt Pezzulo is director of public relations for Team Lionheart. For more information about the team or sponsorship opportunities, he can be contacted at 973-903-1733.