NISD students compete in 2025 Elementary Robotics Competition

For the first time ever, Northwest ISD’s Elementary Robotics Competition came to life in person, buzzing with excitement, innovation and the energy of young minds at work. The theme, "Machinery on a Mission: Space Race," challenged students to design robotic solutions for space-themed tasks that would be too difficult, expensive, time-consuming or dangerous for humans to handle.

In preparation for the competition, teams of up to four students dove into engineering, coding and problem-solving, building and programming their robots to take on the unknowns of space. After competing at the campus level, each school sent its top team to represent their school at the district competition. 

The district competition, sponsored by the Northwest ISD Education Foundation, featured six grade-level robot categories, including Spike Prime and VEX Go for grades 3-5, and Ozobot and Dash for both K-2 and 3-5. Students impressed the judges, showcasing their collaboration, creativity and imaginative thinking in time-limited challenges, with scoring based on successful task completion.

The teams that scored highest overall for their challenges were crowned the tournament champions. Teams could also win the Go-Go Gadget Award for the creating the most unique or creative accessories, the Design Award for having the most creative and efficient robot mat course, 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, and additional photos from the competition can be found on the district's Flickr account.
 

Dash 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	The Big Brains	Lucy Barnard, Victor Ortega	Nance Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	All Stars	Laurel Poynor, Olivia Swilley, Gavin Kim	Cox Elementary
Design Award	She-3PO	Eleanor Beaver, Jane Briggs, Bell White	Lance Thompson Elementary
Spirit & Sportsmanship Award	Diamond Planet	Tanley Glover, Charlotte Bartholomae, Margot Gallegos, Emersyn Wadkins	Daniel Elementary

Dash K-2

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	Space Underdogs	Camden Bates, Mira Sarakinti, Aariv Gupta, Yathra Praveen	Cox Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	WWE🥊	Advait Akkina, Lucas Marrero, Sarha Mudonda, Mahatej Velakaturi	Daniel Elementary

Ozobot 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	The Ducklings	Nidhi Naganand, Harper Adkins, Abigail Garrison	Cox Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	OzoYodas	Ada Campbell, Reagan Dunford, Ian Valdez, Max McLaughlin	Thompson Elementary
Design Award	NASA	Krisheeth Kammari, Easton Donohue, Rishi Jampala, Miguel Byers Gonzalez	Daniel Elementary

Ozobot K-2

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	The Astronaut Creators	Liam Kilpatrick, David Lopez, Sadie Young, Violet Lilly	Nance Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	Crazy Winnie	Porter Lakin, Micah Marimira, Chloe Kwong, Jameson Sanders	Cox Elementary
Design Award	The Sea	Nolan Cunningham, Hrudhaay Barath, Mason Wahler	Daniel Elementary

Spike 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	The Creative Explorers	Rybecca Mannah, Brady Monroe, Azalea Vincent	Nance Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	Rambling Robots	Kinley Phipps, Jeremiah Lopez, Fox Lackey, Emory Hicks, Umaiza Haroon	Thompson Elementary
Design Award	The Big Wheels	Levi Acevedo, Baylor Harrelson, Everett Richardson, Charlotte Gregory	Granger Elementary
Spirit & Sportsmanship Award	Scrawnynags	Zayn Ilhae, Cooper Chason, Liam Krause	Daniel Elementary

Vex 3-5

Award	Team Name	Students	School	Photo
First Place	Banana Squad	Ella Blankenship, Stella Gross, Shreyasi Sawant, Isley McMillan	Cox Elementary
GoGo Gadget Award	Martians 4	Luke Hawbaker, Wayne Thueson, Avery Zrodlowski, Aubry Lara, Mason Riggs	Thompson Elementary