On Friday, December 10, 2021, Penn-Trafford High School played host to Western PA’s inaugural VEX Robotics Tournament of the season. Twenty-eight teams competed, including five teams from Penn-Trafford and multiple teams each from North Allegheny, Forest Hills (near Johnstown), Riverview, Sarah Heinz House, East Allegheny, and North Clarion.
The object of this competition, named “Tipping Point”, was to build, program, and drive robots on a 12’ x 12’ playing field to collect mobile goals (misshaped rings) and balance them on a large see-saw type goal. Each 2-minute round began with a 15 second autonomous period for which the teams pre-programmed the robot movements; during the remaining 1:45 team members were permitted to drive their robots via remote control.
The following teams were acknowledged at the conclusion of the Penn-Trafford tournament and will advance to the Western PA State Championship in March:
- Excellence Award –Penn-Trafford High School Team 1462A (Kyle Gamble, Tyler Heidenreich & Zach Cassidy)
- Tournament Champions – Penn-Trafford High School Team 1462D (Ean Smith, Alec Gilmore, and Jason Pernick)
- Design Award – Penn-Trafford High School Team 1462D (Ean Smith, Alec Gilmore, and Jason Pernick)
- Skills Champions - Penn-Trafford High School Team 1462D (Ean Smith, Alec Gilmore, and Jason Pernick)
Also Qualifying for the State Tournament was Penn-Trafford High School Team 1462B (Noah Moffa, Carl Heller, and A.J. Aquino).