St. Mary’s Dominican High School’s two robotics teams took awards at the February 29th FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) regional championship held at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond. The event drew 19 teams from the region. The Dominican Valkyries won 1st Place Motivate Award and 3rd place Control Award. They also were selected as an Alliance Partner by Shaw Robotics in the Semi-Final Round. These are the top teams competing for the robot game play win. Dominican was one of the top 8 teams to play in the semi-finals round.
The Dominican Ultraviolet team won 1st Place Design Award. Junior Sydney Raymond was named a Finalist for the Dean’s List Award. FIRST Dean’s Finalists include students who are selected at each state or region’s championship and are examples of student leaders who have led their teams and communities to increased awareness of FIRST and its mission. These students have also achieved personal technical experience and accomplishment. Dominican robotics moderators are Matthew Foss, Crissy Giacona, Kenneth Lannes, and Madeline Maldonado.
Members of St. Mary’s Dominican High School robotics teams at the FTC regional championship, Top Row (from left): Coach Madelyn Maldonado, Daja’h Saul, Sydney Raymond, Caroline Alleman, Caitlyn Dumas, Elana Perriott, Lauryn Ancar, Bella Roberts, Ashley Alexis, Priscilla Martinez, and Coach Crissy Giacona. Middle Row: Caroline Ondrusek, Morgan Tebbe, Audrey Wild, Madeline Pourciau, Victoria Despenza, Emma Plaisance, Emma Ernst, Cecilia Cangelosi, and Meredith Kononcheck. Bottom Row: Victoria Chan, Lauren Cage, Anita Whitner, Olivia Cheung, Mia Nguyen, Onyinyechi Okeke, and Catherine Bickerton. Not Pictured: Coaches Matt Foss and Kenny Lannes.