NISD elementary students compete in 2023 virtual robotics tournament

This school year, elementary students across Northwest ISD learned valuable problem-solving and coding skills through the Virtual Robotics Tournament, sponsored by the Northwest ISD Education Foundation. This is the foundation’s fourth year to sponsor the tournament.

In the tournament, students were presented with five robotics kits to choose from including a Lego Spike robot, Dash robot, Ozobot, Lego Mindstorm EV3 robot and a Lego Wedo 2 robot. After forming teams and choosing their robotics kit, students had about two months to complete their challenge and submit to compete against other schools virtually.

In each challenge, students created a robot prototype that could be driven, either by code or through an app, through a sequence of challenges to demonstrate a solution to improve the way products are transported and delivered from seaport to consumer. Once students perfected their solution, they filmed their robot moving through the course and submitted their video online.

The teams that scored highest overall for their challenges were crowned the tournament champions. Teams could also win the Design Award for having the most creative and efficient robot mat course, the Go-Go Gadget Award for the creating the most unique or creative accessories, or the Spirit and Sportsmanship Award for demonstrating the most enthusiasm and spirit for their team and others.

A complete list of award winners can be found below. 

4-5 VexGo

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place and Design Award	CreArt Co.	Aariz Siddiqui, Clarissa Mendoza, Riley Smyth	JCT
Spirit and Sportsmanship	LifeSave Co.	Gift Ngeche, Ayden Burton, Lailah Lary	JCT
GoGo Gadget	Vex School	Elijah Alexander, Ethan Nowell, Cashton Hooper	JCT

3-5 SPIKE

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	Spike Nerds	Owen Sanders, Matthew Gavina, Ryan Watson, Jude Gilland	Cox
GoGo Gadget	Gadget Girls	Kaitlyn Bernardo, Greta Nordstrom, Bailey Morris, Lilly Henkes	Granger
Design Award	Geared for Success	Hannah Daverio, Amelia Ringe, Jaskirat Singh, Livia Virmani	Granger
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Robo Pets	Avery Zrodlowski, Luke Hawbaker, Felicity Zellner, Cooper Vickrey	JCT

3-5 Dash

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	Dash Delivery	Vedhaanth Praveen, Jake Jensen, Kolton Watson, Neil Siquiera	Cox
Design Award	Top Dogs	Anirudh Banda, Emily McCune, Lorelei Locke	Cox
GoGo Gadget	Imagical Imaginators	Seth Rannulu, Amanda Cameron Rivera, Madison Ferguson	Peterson
Spirit and Sportsmanship	The Weird-But-True Nerds	Draconis Nguyen, Ethane Muanza, Noah Tesfaye	Peterson
Spirit and Sportsmanship	The Ghost Peppers	Aleco Garza, Rylee Shuford, Daniella Fernandez, Daniel Bixby	Nance

K-2 Ozobot

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	Team Messi	Carsten Atkinson, Dallas DeVore, Sunny Foster	Justin
GoGo Gadget	TurboBots	Jason McElroy, Sadie Cowan, Garrett Bayle	Schluter
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Team Disney	Maeve Applegate, Charlotte Ratra, Camden Coffey	Justin
Design Award	The Reese's Racers	Abby Norwood, Genevieve Humphrey	Justin

3-5 Ozobot

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	Ozobot 4000	Ava Montoya, Pranavi Narayani, Aiyana Patel	Cox
Design Award	3 Billy Girls Gruff	Eva Aucoin, Kinleigh Benning, Brianna Rice	Hatfield
GoGo Gadget	Soccer Sisters	Pemberley Elliott, Sophia Bush, Margaret Solomon	Justin
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Little Red	Sahasra Konduri, Jackson Saenz, Lincoln Saenz, Paxton Buck	Cox
Spirit and Sportsmanship	TechWorld	Elliott West, Bowen Andrews, Bryan Kennedy	Schluter

K-2 Wedo 2.0

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	Boss Balls 2.0	Coleman Sanders, Cole Valenta, Hamza Malik	Lakeview
Spirit and Sportsmanship	Rockstars	Marshall McKenzie, Luca Philps, Raelan Lilly	Lakeview
Design Award	Bob the Builders	Emory Hicks, Connor Hayes, Micah Velazquez	JCT
GoGo Gadget	Robot Masters	Ava Sacramento, Brinlee Darland, Harrison Olszewski	JCT

3-5 Wedo 2.0

Award	Team Name	Students	School
1st Place	The RoRoRoRobotics	Addison Reed, Gavin Shasha, Kwame Agyeman	Lakeview
Design Award	Applesauce Frogs	Andrew Newby, Milo Ericson, Jordynn Rone, Caiden Gordon	Clara Love