By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News

The Vandegrift ViperBots had an incredible finish to the 2020-2021 season at the UIL/Texas Cup State Championships June 14 -17.  

“I can’t deny that this year has been tough. I really thought I wasn’t going to enjoy the season until league champs neared and all that motivation just clicked. From there it moved extremely fast, and we even made it to the Texas Cup,” said Megan Nguyen, VHS student. “Being able to see our robot perform the best it’s ever been on the field was incredibly fulfilling!” 

“Great job to all of our teams on a crazy year and representing Vandegrift in three very competitive tournaments,” said Irad Allen, VHS computer science teacher and robotics advisor. “A special thank you to all of our mentors and coaches for their amazing support.”

The tournament started with the FIRST Tech Challenge UIL championships on June 15. 

“After a long day of qualifying and some very intense matches, team 7161 Hydra found themselves in the finals competing for the UIL Championship, eventually finishing 2nd,” Allen said.

On June 17 – 18, 7161  was joined by 4545 Ouroboros, 6299 QuadX, and 11503 HyperFang in the FIRST Texas Cup State Championships. 

All four teams performed very well, with 4545 Ouroboros finishing 8th and 7161 Hydra finishing 7th after advancing to the quarterfinals. 

“I’m so proud of how our team performed throughout the season, culminating in an extremely special state championship where we showcased our skills and got picked for elimination matches,” said Shriya Ganesan. “Every team member has contributed so much, and I’m so impressed by what our team accomplished in such challenging times.” 

6299 QuadX continued their tradition of success earning the Motivate Award for their outreach in South Africa and STEM advocacy in the Texas State Legislature for HR 244.  

11503 HyperFang followed their Inspire Award winning performance at the Central Texas Regionals by earning the Innovate aAward for their extensive robot design and implementation of a dual sided intake. 

7161 Hydra finished as a finalist in the Design Award.

From June 15 – 17, the ViperBots FIRST Robotics Competition team, 6800 Valor, competed in nine grueling qualification matches to earn the #8 captain spot.  

“In alliance selections, the #2 seed, 118 RoboNauts selected Valor as their number one pick to battle in a very difficult division including the #1 seed alliance with 2 World Champion programs,” Allen said.

Valor’s alliance won four quick matches in the quarterfinals and semifinals to advance to a six-team round robin tournament that included the top six teams from the BlueBonnet Division and Lone Star Division.  

“After five grueling matches, 6800 Valor finished 3rd place after losing a close nail biter to alliance including yet another World Champion,” Allen said.  

FTC UIL

7161 Hydra  – 2nd Place

FTC Texas Cup

11503 HyperFang – Innovate Award

6299 QuadZ – Motivate Award

7161 Hydra – Design Award Finalist, 7th Place

4545 Ouroboros – 8th Place

FRC UIL/Texas Cup

6800 Valor – 3rd Place

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