TA News

Hoping to relive its successful debut two weeks ago, TA’s team 4886 sent six robots and their student builders to Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH for a competition among 33 robots from six other schools. 

Thetford Academy’s showing was strong. At the end of 50 qualifying matches, five out of six of TA’s robots were in the top half of the standings – with Skunkworks (Eldon Crossett and Avery Crandall) and Turbo-encabulator (Tate Whiteberg) seeded #3 and #4 respectively. These robots made it into the elimination round.

In the quarterfinals, the TA alliance of Turbo-encabulator and Beefcake (Marshall Melancon, Isaiah Kol and Michael Fernandez) was defeated, while 7th-seeded TA alliance of Waluigi (Caleb Crossett) and String Theory (Aden Perry and Duncan MacPhee) pulled off an upset, defeating the #2 seed. At the end of the semifinal matches, only Skunkworks was left standing for TA. 

Final matches are always exciting: the machines in them have demonstrated excellent game strategy, competitive driving, and proven reliability all day. This match was no exception. Skunkworks and their Pinkerton partner lost to a Pinkerton-Spark Academy of Advanced Sciences alliance by a thin 3-point margin: 150 to 153. 

By reaching the finals though, Skunkworks joins 4886’s Turbo-encabulator and Beefcake in having qualified for the VT/NH State Championship in February. Three of TAs five high-school teams have now qualified for States. Tate Whiteberg and his Turbo-encabulator won the Design Award for his innovative design and well-documented design process. 

And unofficially, the boldest roboteur award goes to seventh-grader Rowan Moody-A’ness, who finished his solo-effort robot Yogurt the night before the meet. In his first robotics meet with little driving experience, Rowan quickly learned the ropes and was seen strategizing with the powerhouse teams. Congratulations to 4886 for another successful competition!