17 Mar 2015 SIX Kansas City area teams advance to World Robotics Championship at the Greater Kansas City Regional FIRST® Robotics Competition
Kansas City, Mo. (March 14, 2015) – Six Kansas City area teams will advance to FIRST WORLD Championships, held April 23 – 26, 2015 in St. Louis, MO. Olathe Northwest High School, Team 1710, Olathe, Kansas; Blue Springs High Schools (Blue Springs South/Blue Springs), Team 1785, Blue Springs, MO; Independence School District (Chrisman, Truman and Van Horn High Schools), Team 1723, Independence, MO; Lee’s Summit High School, Team 1730, Lee’s Summit, MO; Smithville High School, Team 1806, Smithville, MO and Shawnee Mission West High School, Team 1777, Overland Park, KS.
Attended by thousands of fans, families, educators and industry leaders, the Greater Kansas City Regional FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition awarded several teams with honors that rewarded design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship and high impact partnerships between schools, businesses and communities.
Held at MCC Business & Technology on March 13and 14, the 54 high school student teams competed to earn a spot at the FIRST Championship, held April 23-26, 2015, in St. Louis, MO.
According to a Brandeis University study, students who participate in FIRST are twice as likely to major in science or engineering in college—and young women who participate in FIRST are more than four times as likely to pursue science and engineering in college.
Students participating in FIRST are also eligible to apply for over $22 million dollars in scholarships from leading universities, colleges and companies. Scholarship announcements are made at the FIRST championship in St. Louis.
Winners of the Greater Kansas City Regional FIRST Robotics 2015 Competition include: **Denotes awards that qualify teams to move to participate the FIRST World Championship held in St. Louis, MO – April 23-26, 2014
Regional Chairman’s Award** (highest award of the competition) – Olathe Northwest High School, Team 1710, Olathe, Kansas
(The Regional Chairman’s Award is the most prestigious award of the event and recognizes the team that embodies the goals and purpose of FIRST and best represents a model for other teams to emulate.)
Engineering Inspiration Award** (second highest award of competition) – Lee’s Summit Senior High School, Team 1730, Lee’s Summit, MO
Regional Champions** – Olathe Northwest High School, Team 1710, Olathe, Kansas;
Blue Springs High Schools (Blue Springs South/Blue Springs), Team 1785, Blue Springs, MO; Independence School District (Chrisman, Truman and Van Horn High Schools), Team 1723, Independence, MO
Regional Finalists** – Lee’s Summit High School, Team 1730, Lee’s Summit, MO; Smithville High School, Team 1806, Smithville, MO; Shawnee Mission West High School, Team 1777, Overland Park, KS
Xerox Creativity Award – Lee’s Summit North, Team 1987, Lee’s Summit, MO
Chrysler Team Spirit Award – Liberty North and Liberty High Schools, Team 1764, Liberty, MO
Jack Kamen Honorary Imagery Award – The Barstow School, Team 1939, Kansas City, MO
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship Award –Liberty North and Liberty High Schools, Team 1764, Liberty, MO
Delphi Excellence in Engineering Award – St. Louis Priory School, Team 1329, St. Louis, MO
General Motors Industrial Design Award – Smith-Cotton High School, Team 4522, Sedalia, MO
Johnson & Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award –Shawnee Mission East High School, Team 2335, Prairie Village, KS
Motorola Quality Award School – Blue Valley CAPS, Team 2410, Overland Park, Kansas
Rockwell Automation Innovation in Control Award – Smithville High School, Team 1806, Smithville, MO
Underwriters Laboratories Safety Award – Liberty North and Liberty High Schools, Team 1764, Liberty, MO
Judges’ Award – Lincoln College Preparatory Academy, Team 1775, Kansas City, MO
National Instruments Rookie Inspiration Award – Bridge 4H Robotics, Team 5476, Olathe, KS
FIRST® Dean’s List Finalists (Outstanding Student Leadership) – Austin Ahern, Lee’s Summit North High School, Team #1987, Lee’s Summit, MO and William Gunderson, Des Moines Metro Area School, Team #4646, Des Moines, IA
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award – Mary Beth Mattingly, Team 1810, Mill Valley High School, Shawnee, Kansas
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award Regional Champion – Garmin
Volunteer of the Year – Tom Hand, Longtime FIRST Mentor and Judge
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jean Melech
KC STEM Alliance
816-809-9522}
melechje@kcstem.org