‘It’s a very friendly competition.’ LS schools honored at robotics world championship

High school robotics teams in Lee’s Summit recently took on the world.

Teams from the three Lee’s Summit R-7 School District high schools qualified for the World Championship, which took place April 20 to 23 in Houston. More than 450 robotics teams from around the world attended the championship, which breaks down to more than 14,000 students from 40 different countries.

Lee’s Summit High School’s Team Driven won a division that consisted of 75 other teams. The students continued to a round-robin tournament to determine the winner of the entire competition. The team ended in third place overall.

Lee’s Summit West’s Team Titanium finished fifth in its division, concluding a season that included two regional victories and multiple individual student honors.

Lee’s Summit North’s Broncobots ranked in the top third of their competitors. The students were selected to pair up with the sixth seed alliance to compete in the finals, and were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Their season included two regional wins and the Engineering Inspiration Award.

Talia Evans, assistant director of public relations for the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, said the students begin preparing for the competition in January. Students receive a prompt that will ask them to create a robot that can overcome various obstacles. If their robot meets the criteria, the teens are invited to compete in the world championship.

“It’s really exciting to see how hard the students work,” Evans said. “You can see and hear their passion when they talk about their accomplishments and wins, which is so exciting for the district.”

Caden Murphy, an upcoming senior at Lee’s Summit West, became a finalist in the Dean’s List award after an interview process at the Greater Kansas City Regional Tournament. One of the many aspects he enjoys about robotics competitions is the camaraderie.

“It’s a very friendly competition,” he said. “Sometimes you’ll be competing with people, and the next match you’ll be on a team with them.”

Caden is co-pilot and co-lead of the mechanical team, which also puts him in the “pit” making repairs during robotics competitions.

His time on the drive team deepened a passion for the design and manufacturing of robots, and ingrained in him a love of engineering.

“I definitely want to go into mechanical or aerospace engineering,” he said. “I can’t envision doing anything else.”

During the crucial first six weeks of training at their schools, core team members may spend upward of 40 hours per week in the lab — in addition to their regular classwork. At that point, “Week Zero” marks the start of competition with other schools, which often involves regional travel.

The success of the program has positioned participating students for ongoing academic and career success. Robotics alums have qualified for admission to such higher education schools as Missouri University of Science and Technology, Kansas State, Iowa State, Auburn and MIT. The students’ fields of study encompass computer software, mechanical, aeronautical and other engineering disciplines.

Caden was first inspired when he went to summer camps focused on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills in elementary school. Now, as a mentor during the summer, he’s returning the favor.

“We do a lot of outreach,” he said, adding that he sees as many girls as boys interested in robotics. “We get to elementary schools, host summer camps; we must have hundreds of kids. It’s good to get them coming in early.”

Staff writer Maria Martin contributed to this story.