Two Pahrump teams win awards in Robotics State Championship

Last weekend, The Meadows School in Las Vegas hosted the Robotics State Championship, where teams from all over the state, including Trojan Horse, the Pahrump Valley High School team, and Awkward Silence, a local 4-H team, competed in the chance to be crowned champions.

Robotic competition consists of two sections: inspections and the game portion where teams compete in gathering “specimens” which are various shaped objects, and bringing them to the opposite side of the field called the “sample.”

Points are awarded for the various positions on which the specimens are placed. The higher the specimen is placed in its respective corner, the more points are awarded to the team.

In the final 30 seconds of the game, teams attempt to climb their robot up blocks and the farther the robot scales the structure, the more points are earned.

Throughout the season, teammates learn Java programming for autonomous features, robot construction engineering skills, and 3D modeling of the robots and practice fields.

Pahrump Valley High School team

Pahrump Valley High School’s Trojan Horse robotics club consists of four members: Jasmin Garcia, Wolfe Beckley, Aidan Thompson and Mekaiah Blackstock. The team is led by faculty member and alumni Carlos McDonald, who has been mentoring the team for two years.

“Coming back and contributing has been really fulfilling,” McDonald said. “Seeing that they have a safe space, doing something they enjoy and learning the skills to build these robots and be a team are beneficial for them. Continuing this team for them is going to be really important.”

Senior Wolfe Beckley leads the team as the longest-active member. Beckley deflects on being called “captain” saying “We’re a small team, centralized power like that isn’t helpful in a team setting.”

The team practices Wednesday and Friday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., focusing on a central task.

PVHS had a robotics team prior to the pandemic school shutdown, but the team did not re-form until last year.

Since robotics is an expensive sport, the team began fundraising efforts by contacting local businesses to request sponsorship. Meanwhile, they got creative by making use of old parts already in their workroom.

Awkward Silence team

According to Awkward Silence head coach Jennifer Riendeau, each season costs approximately $1,000 to fund.

Awkward Silence and the PVHS team work closely together, sharing skills, ideas, and even their practice field, supporting each other in the good graces of the slogan “Gracious Professionalism,” a term in robotics essentially promoting good sportsmanship in the community.

Awkward Silence consists of four team members: Team Captain Jaxon Riendeau, Sergeant-at-Arms Sebastian Tumbarello, Secretary Merrilise Judge and Scout Prince Lamette.

Jennifer and Jason Riendeau stepped up as coaches of the team after being promoted from “team parents.” This year, Jason is retiring from the team and Dylan Riendeau is taking over the second coaching role. The team also benefits from the mentorship of Kevin Holl.

Awkward Silence meets Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the 4-H building on the corner of Dandelion Street and Calvada Blvd.

“It is a very family family-oriented program. There are people from all walks of life who compete with their robots,” Riendeau said. “It’s a competition. We get that, but the reality is we want people to succeed.”

Competition progression

The PVHS team placed 13 out of 23 for the qualification round, just one place shy of the cutoff for playoffs that advance the top 12 teams.

As a principle of gracious professionalism, the top six advancing teams are able to choose their alliance partners from the pool of teams not included in the 12-team cutoff. The No. 2 team, Royal Ghostbusters, chose PVHS as its alliance partner, inviting this local team to compete in the playoffs.

Both Awkward Silence and PVHS advanced to the semi-final rounds of the competition. Awkward Silence’s new second coach, Dylan Riendeau, was awarded the Compass Award.

PVHS was awarded the Judges Choice Award, which recognizes a team for their outstanding efforts.

“I will continue throughout my four years of high school,” Trojan Horse team member Aidan Thompson said. “It’s great working with these people.”

After celebrating their success, both teams start preparation for their next season, which begins in September.

For more information on the teams, contact Jennifer Riendeau of Awkward Silence at pahrumpftc@gmail.com or Carlos McDonald PVHS at cmcdonald@nyeschools.org.

Contact reporter Johnathan Harris at HARRIJ29@unlv.nevada.edu.