East Cobb students head to world robotics championships

Students from Hightower Trail Middle School and Wheeler High School in East Cobb will be competing in world robotics championships in Texas later this spring.

The five-member Hightower Trail team will be making the trip to the VEX World Robotics Championships for the first time, after placing 14th in the state skill challenge and earning the Teamwork Champion Award.

They are led by Joey Giunta, a teacher at Tritt Elementary School, where three of the current team members got their start in VEX robotics.

In a release from the Cobb County School District, Hightower Trail principal Dr. Hannah Polk said the school began a VEX robotics program this year, backed by the Husky Foundation.

“How impressive to have reached this milestone during their inaugural year, which speaks volumes of the hard work and dedication of each member of the team,” she said in the release.

The Wheeler team will be making its fifth trip to the FIRST Championships in Houston, including 15 students from the FTC 1002 CircuitRunners team.

At the state competition, Wheeler students won the Inspire Award, an award that goes to the team that best displays the FIRST principles.

The Walton High School team is attempting to qualify for the FIRST Competition, and at a recent district competition was given the Excellence in Engineering Award, which recognizes teams that demonstrate outstanding engineering practices and design principles in their robot.

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