Robotics team reaches tournament semifinals

The Sparta High School robotics team kicked off its competitive season Dec. 10 at a regional competition at Millburn High School.

Fifty teams from throughout New Jersey competed, and Sparta’s lead varsity team, 5249-Z “Spare Parts,” reached the tournament semifinals.

The Z team also ranked No. 5 in driver and coding skills challenges. This places it at No. 8 in the state and No. 602 in the world.

”This was our first competition of the year and all of our Sparta sub-teams demonstrated very positive performance,” said head coach Mark Meola.

“The thing that stood out to me most is that typically at this point in the season, we are dealing with all sorts of issues related to mechanical and code development. This time, however, our systems were all performing well. We are much further along and as a result much more competitive.”

Drew Young, co-captain of 5249 Z, said that team formed relationships with other teams with which they hope to work in the future.

“Our team is walking out of this competition with more knowledge of other teams and many ideas on how to upgrade our robot and strengthen our overall performance. I’m very optimistic about our performances in the future.”

Shannon Lloyd, co-captain of 5249 Z, said she was proud of how well the team did. “I believe the dedication and talent on the team will help drive us through a very successful year.”

Liam Askin, co-captain of 5249 Z, pointed out that all members of the team have improved significantly from last year. “We’re trying to take as much advantage of our manpower as we can.”

Sparta High School will host 60 high schools from throughout the state Saturday, Jan. 13 in the largest high school robotics competition in New Jersey.