High Point students win first robotics tournament

SUSSEX BOROUGH — Several students from High Point Regional High School braved the cold temperatures by competing at the New Jersey STEM League Challenge at Bloomfield High School on Feb. 6 and a VEX Robotics tournament on Feb. 7 at Montville High School.

The New Jersey STEM League was introduced in November 2014 as a means on genuinely integrating the four STEM fields; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Students had to design and construct a device that transported a brick from point (A) to point (B) using that very same brick as the source of energy to power the device.

The following students from Brian Drelick’s Engineering Honors classes and Chris Kappelmeier’s AP Physics and Calculus classes represented High Point at this event: Brian Lange, Jordan Wormuth, Dan Banas, Zachary King, Gage Krisanda, Kyle Nolan, Corey Orlovsky, Will Theune, Tyler Schulok, Henry Starman, and Brooke Martin.

The following day, six High Point students competed a VEX Robotics tournament in Montville. Nearly 40 teams statewide participated at this rigorous robotics challenge where the senior trio of Tyler Schulok, Brian Lange, and Autumn Smith (Team Stripped Screws) became the first High Point Team to win a Regional VEX Event in school history. The robot persevered through 10 grueling matches, eventually developing an alliance with the Ranney School and St. Joseph’s to reign supreme over a very talented field of competitors. A second High Point Team, Team Nuts and Bolts (Jordan Wormuth, Jeff Dobkowski, Mike Shorr, and Magnus DiStefano), also competed and earned a berth in the quarterfinals.

“That was an experience that you couldn't get anywhere else," said Tyler Shulok, a senior on Team Stripped Screws, who will attend Virginia Tech for Mechanical Engineering. "The atmosphere and the fierce competition would get any team the experience needed to really understand all facets of STEM.”

Autumn Smith, a senior who was also part of High Point’s 2014 state championship softball team described the difference between athletic and academic competition.

“Being an athlete, my mind works on all reaction, not thinking," she said. "Just taking the split second to make a choice while driving a VEX Robot is more of a thinking game, and giving me time to think made me nervous!”

Brian Lange, a senior consider an engineering major at Penn State or Rutgers this fall states.

“Being surrounded by the level of competition in the room was unbelievable," he said. "It was awesome working with the other members of our alliance and the experience was invaluable. We can't wait to start gearing up for the great opportunity that it is ahead of us.”

The state championship is February 21st at Cherry Hill East High School.