By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
DALLAS—Approximately 830 high school robotics teams from around the globe gathered at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas earlier this month for the VEX Robotics World Championship.
One of those teams was from Plainwell High School.
Team Siege—comprised of PHS students Owen Ferris, Isaiah Looney-McPhillips and Walker Clippinger—qualified for the event by virtue of their performance at the Michigan State Championship at Kettering University in February.
The VEX World Championship was split into 10 division: Arts; Design; Engineering; Innovate; Math; Opportunity; Research; Science; Spirit; and Technology.
Team Siege, which was in Dallas for the World Championship from Monday, May 5, through Thursday, May 8, was in the Arts Division.
In its 10 qualifying alliance matches, Siege came out victorious six times. That level of success helped the Plainwell trio advance to the elimination rounds.
Siege captained the 13th-ranked team and came up short in the elimination rounds, dropping its first match in the Round of 16.
Although disappointed with that loss, the team members were able to take away many positives from the experience as well as the season as a whole, according to Plainwell Robotics Club communications and fundraising coordinator Lisa Cook.
“The team finished an exciting robotics season with an experience they won’t soon forget,” Cook said.
Matt Clippinger and Jason Ferris served as coached for Siege.
