News editor
Hillsboro High School Technology Student Association had a fundraiser dinner Friday evening followed by demonstrations of several events they will be competing in at the 2012 National TSA Conference, June 21 through 25 in Nashville, Tenn.
The highlight event was a VEX Robotics Showdown. Teams control robots to score points by putting balls and barrel-shaped objects in goals within a time limit. HHS will have three teams, totaling six people, competing at the national conference in the school’s first year in the event.
Ben Loewen, Josh Siebert, Aaron Slater, and Garrett Foster were all on the state championship alliance teams — two teams of two people make an “alliance” in the competition, the teams do not have to be from the same chapter. Bret Mueller and Erich Herbel qualified for national competition, filling a vacant spot in the Kansas delegation.
In Friday’s intrasquad scrimmages, teams Robozilla (Loewen and Siebert) and Chiefbot (Herbel and Mueller) finished as champions.
Robotics isn’t the only event HHS students will be competing in nationally, though. Chase Meisinger placed first in dragster design at state, and Courtney Troyer placed third in digital video production at state. Additionally, Slater and Mueller will be a team in structural engineering, and Loewen and Herbel will be a team in problem solving. Herbel also will compete in flight endurance after placing second at state.
The students also demonstrated structural engineering and flight endurance on Friday. One of the balsawood structures was able to hold 306 lbs. Herbel’s airplane wasn’t ready for a long flight, but he was able to demonstrate how a plane made of balsa and mylar could fly.