HAYS — On April 28, Great Bend Middle School sent four teams accompanied by Tina Steinert to compete in the Fort Hays State University Western Kansas Lego Robotics Competition. The competition represented 25 western Kansas school districts.
The students had the option to compete in five different events: sumobot, clear the field, slalom, counting colors and follow the line.
GBMS students decided to compete in three events: clear the field, which entailed removing three face-down plastic cups from a white mat; slalom, which consists of six poles and the robot must touch each pole; and sumobot, which resembles a sumo match. Each robot had to be constructed solely from parts found in a standard Lego robot kit.
The team of Will Linenberger, Aubrey Snapp and Deizel Carey Banks took first in sumobot, winning five head-to-head matches.
Lily Fellers and Kyle Rziha won clear the field with the fastest time of the day. Fellers and Rziha also placed second overall as a bot with the second most points scored for the day. GBMS placed 2nd overall earning them a team trophy.
“It was a great learning experience, and all the students really enjoyed the activity,” Steinert said.