Burlington, Arnett Advance to Regional BEST Robotics Contest in Denver

November 6, 2024

About 125 students, coaches and parents from seven schools in Oklahoma took part in Northwestern’s Heartland BEST Robotics Game Day contest Nov. 2 in Percefull Fieldhouse at Northwestern-Alva. The Arnett High School (top two rows) and Burlington High School (bottom two rows) robotics teams will move on to the regional contest in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 7-8.

Students from Burlington High School and Arnett High School have advanced to the Regional BEST Robotics competition in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 7-8 after earning top placings in the Heartland BEST 2024 “Low G” contest at Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Alva Nov. 2.

This year the students’ robots “went to the moon” to complete various tasks.

Students from Burlington High School compete in the Heartland BEST Robotics competition on Nov. 2. Burlington won their fourth consecutive BEST Award.

Burlington earned first in the BEST Award category, the fourth consecutive year for Burlington to win this category. Dr. Tim Maharry, co-director of the Heartland BEST competition and chair of the mathematics and computer science department, noted that the BEST award includes a marketing presentation, spirit and sportsmanship, an engineering notebook, a team exhibit, as well as robot performance. Burlington robotics team also earned the top Robot Game Award.

Students from Arnett compete in the final round of the Heartland BEST Robotics Game Day Contest.

Students from Arnett High School compete in the final round of the Heartland BEST Robotics Game Day Contest.

By finishing second in the Robot Award, Arnett also qualified for the regional competition. Maharry noted that since Burlington finished first in both the BEST and Robot Awards, the second place Robot Award team advances.  Students from Arnett and Burlington will compete against other teams from Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Dakota at the regional competition in December.

Other winners in the BEST overall category were Lawton Academy of Arts and Science, second; Arnett, third; and Alva Robotics, fourth.

Others placing in the Game Award category were Alva, third and Lawton Academy, fourth.

Robin Coleman, Arnett High School robotics team (left), is awarded Coach of the Year by Heartland BEST co-director Dr. Jenny Sattler (right).

Robin Coleman, Arnett High School robotics team (left), is awarded Coach of the Year by Heartland BEST co-director Dr. Jenny Sattler (right).

Special awards went to the following:

  • BEST Coach of the Year – Robin Coleman of Arnett
  • BEST Spirit & Sportsmanship Award – Burlington
  • BEST T-shirt Award – Waynoka High School (as voted by the teams)
  • Most Elegant Robot – Arnett
  • Most Photogenic Robot – Lawton Academy
  • Most Robust Robot – Waynoka
  • Founders Award for Creative Design – Burlington

Other schools participating included Leedey High School as well as a team from Persimmon Creek Robotics, located near Sharon, joining the competiton for the first time this year.

This year marks the 22nd year that Northwestern has held a BEST competition. BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science & Technology.

To learn more about the Heartland BEST Robotics competition at Northwestern, contact Maharry at (580) 327-8583 or tjmaharry@nwosu.edu, or co-directors Dr. Mary Riegel, professor of mathematics, at (580) 327-8437 or mriegel@nwosu.edu and Dr. Jenny Sattler, associate professor of physics and chair of the department of natural science, at (580) 327-8568 or jasattler@nwosu.edu.  Information also may be found at www.nwosu.edu/school-of-arts-and-sciences/natural-science/heartland-best.

-NW-

CONTACT FOR RELEASE:
Sean J. Doherty, University Relations Specialist

sjdoherty@nwosu.edu | 580-327-8480



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