PALMDALE – In a heated Battle at the Border, two Antelope Valley robotics teams formed a powerhouse partnership that fought to take the title in a competition last week in San Diego.
The Palmdale Aerospace Academy’s Gryffingear Robotics Team joined together with Lancaster High School’s Eagle Robotics Team to compete in the quarterfinals competition at Francis Parker School. After a noble effort in the battle, they were defeated by the ultimate victors of the day’s event.
“Gryffingear works so hard year-round to show off what a great robotics program we have here,” said The Palmdale Aerospace Academy Headmaster, Dr. Laura Herman. “As always, we are proud of our local teams and the great sportsmanship we have.”
The Academy’s robots, Golden Snitch and Basilisk, had the highest combined tandem-team ranking of all schools in the tournament.
They also scored the biggest upset against three World Championship teams, including Chairman’s Champ Holy Cows (High Tech High), WarLords (Francis Parker High), and SuperNerds (San Pasqual High) by a margin of 181 points.
Golden Snitch proceeded to captain the #4 alliance, selecting Lancaster’s bot Mona Lisa to play alongside them in eliminations. The quarterfinals saw three hard-fought matches before the Antelope Valley alliance was overcome by the eventual champions of the competition.
The Academy’s second bot, Basilisk, was selected as the second selection of the #5 alliance, captained by El Modena High School in Orange. The alliance advanced all the way into the semifinals where it was defeated by a narrow margin to the #1 alliance.
“In all, we had an incredibly successful weekend for Team Gryffingear,” stated Brian Martin, Robotics Advisor and teacher at The Academy. Gryffingear Coach Jeremy Germita added, “We’re pumped for what the 2015 season will bring us.”
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