KO Robotics Team Places 1st in CT State Championship, Advances to Regional Event

Kingswood Oxford’s Robotics team placed first in the CT State Robotics Championship at Greens Farms Academy in Westport on Mar. 8, and will now compete in the Eastern Super-Regionals tournament in York, PA, on Apr. 3-5.

This is the first time a KO team has advanced this far in the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) competition since the robotics program began at KO eight years ago.

Led by KO Science teacher and Robotics coach Sarah Lamb and KO Modern Languages teacher Brenda Semmelrock, the members of KO’s robotics team are Co-Captain Mike Sequino ’14, Co-Captain Robert Scappaticci ’15, Peter Baczyk ’15, Claire Halloran ’15, Evan Kelmar ’16, Grant Kravetz ’16, Julian Lombardi ’16, Luke Mills ’16, Dhruv Sheth ’16, and Benjamin Waldman ’16.

“The team truly deserved this win,” said Coach Lamb. “And it was all the more special to win at home in CT surrounded by our families and friends.”

In addition to prevailing on the field, KO’s team also won the PTC Design Award, given to the team that best utilizes computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software and "incorporates industrial design elements into their solution.” And, it was a runner-up for the Rockwell-Collins Innovate Award, which honors "the team that has the most innovative and creative robot design solution to any or all specific field elements or components in the FTC game."

A special moment of the day was when all of the tournament participants joined voices to sing "happy birthday" to KO Head Robotics Coach Donna Balcezak, who is recuperating at home from breast cancer surgery. A week ago, the KO team – sporting pink ribbons in honor of Coach Balcezak -- was featured on the NBC news affiliates in VT and CT.