Lion Robotics Compete on World Stage

This year marks a groundbreaking moment for St. Mark’s robotics as not one but two teams competed at the world championships. This was the first time in school history that any robotics team had qualified for a world competition. The competitions, held in Houston from April 14-17, saw participation from over 18,000 students representing 59 countries.

 

“What the SM Robotics teams have done this year is just amazing,” said Fletch Carron, Stephen M. Seay ’68 Science Department chair. “It’s an unprecedented year of success for our teams. I’m extremely proud of the contributions of everyone involved, from the students to the sponsors to the parent volunteers: it was a team effort.”

 

The Upper School team, named ‘The Marksmen,’ advanced to the world competition based on an eighth-place robot performance ranking at the First Tech Challenge (FTC) Texas State Championship. Texas is one of the most competitive regions in the world with nearly 900 teams. At the world competition, 224 teams from around the globe were divided into four divisions. In the seeding rounds, The Marksmen ranked first through fourth in their division throughout most of the competition, dropping to tenth with a final record of 8-2. The team just missed making it into the playoffs but did amazingly well for a rookie team. In one particularly successful match, the driver-controlled portion of the competition called ‘Teleop,’ The Marksmen had the third-highest score of any team in the world throughout the entire season.

 

“The dedication The Marksmen have put in over the school year has been incredible,” said Stewart Mayer, Makerspace director and coach. “Working weekdays, weekends and even holidays, the team constantly improved their robot throughout the season. I can’t overstate how much work it takes a team to make it to world, and for a team to make it their first year, especially in Texas, is extraordinary. A big reason for the team’s success was the dedication of our two captains, seniors Arav Rawat and Vivek Patel, who were extremely dedicated and talented coders and designers.”

 

St. Mark’s most accomplished Middle School First Lego League team, ‘RoboRoar,’ won the second place Champions Award at the Texas State competition in March and was one of only three teams from Texas to advance to the world championship. 

 

“RoboRoar has performed at the highest level all season,” said Dr. Dan Lipin, LEGO robotics Middle School program director. “They have set a high bar for future teams to aspire to reach.”  

 

RoboRoar coach and St. Mark’s parent Dr. Stephen Harder has been practicing with the team tirelessly since September.  

 

“The world competition was a truly unique experience,” said Harder. “The boys took full advantage of the event to hang out with teams from around the globe, check out amazing exhibits and cheer on our St. Mark’s Upper School team as they competed in the First Tech Challenge. From a coach’s perspective, it was amazing to see the robotics program gain depth and success year after year. It is an activity that allows each boy to delve deeply into their interest and see how far hard work can take them. I’m so appreciative that St. Mark’s offers these opportunities to our boys.”

 

The Marksmen team members are Vivek Patel ’24 (captain), Arav Rawat ’24 (captain), Christian Denis ’26, Everett Jin ’26, Tarik Syed ’26, Ronen Verma ’26, Michael Yang ’26, Max Yan ’25 and Ethan Zhang ’25. The RoboRoar team members are Elliot Harder ’30, Henry Franklin ’30, John Griggs ’30, Ritam Setu ’30, Ryan Jarratt ’30, Taj Clayton ’30 and Wils Brous ’30.