Barrington High School Robotics teams to compete in State Championship

Eighteen Barrington High School students are scheduled to compete in the Illinois FIRST Tech Challenge; State Championship at Elgin Community College on March 1 and 2. The FIRST Tech Challenge; (FTC) is a global competition sponsored by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and; Technology), a nonprofit organization designed to inspire students to become science and technology leaders.

The 18 Barrington students represented two FTC teams to compete against the top 44 qualifying teams from across the state. Barrington High School was the only school with two FTC teams qualifying for the Illinois State Championship.

At the League Championship in Rockford two weeks ago, Barrington FTC Team 5199, named “Duct Tape and a Prayer,” was a member of the Winning Alliance. Team 5199 members include Haasini Arunkumar, Dimitri Diyadawagamage, Ahmad Dossani, Bryn Hakl, Aiden Hawthorn, Mason Malooley, Aayan Patel, Keiyla Smith, and Jaden Tabor.

Also at the League Championship was Barrington FTC Team 6200, named “Despicable Machine,” which was the overall event champion by taking the 1st Place Inspire Award based on the principle of gracious; professionalism. Team 6200 members include Kavish Gulati, Owen Johnson, Hafsah Khan, Alex Menges, Varun Nair, Sarah Pinto, Cindy Wang, Cole Witek, and Cooper Witek.

The top four teams from the Illinois State Championship will advance to the World Championship, held in Houston, Texas, on April 17-20.

This is the 13th year that the after-school robotics program has been offered at Barrington High School, which has 26 students actively engaged in critical STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) activities. The team is funded by generous contributions from Barrington High School, corporate sponsors, and individuals.

BHS teachers Tom Bredemeier and Kristen Lewis coach the Barrington Robotics program.