4/10/14 - A local school sent its team off to the state championship in style yesterday, with a police-led parade around the school and the student body lined up outside as their names were announced. But this wasnât a basketball or soccer team that was being celebrated, but instead the robotics team at the Charyl Stockwell Preparatory Academy in Brighton, which was the only Livingston County-based team to advance to the state tournament being held this weekend at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. Teacher and team coach Heather Vingsness says robotics is not something that at first blush seems exciting, but thatâs only for those who havenât experienced the competitions. "There's so much energy. Now I know why people like to watch sports and scream at the TV...It's just so exciting. Everyone's there, everyone's happy and there's these robots the kids have actually physically built. It's cool to see what kids these days are capable of." CSPA Principal Steven Beyer echoes that enthusiasm. "We feel like we're the Hoosiers of robotics. For a school our size to be competing at this level is a dream come true for the kids, their families and our school. And the fact that it's an academic competition and our school is a preparatory school focused on academics makes it all the sweeter." The top 30 finishers at the state competition will advance to the FIRST Robotics World championship later this month in St. Louis, and both Vingsness and Beyer are optimistic they have a very good chance of making that happen. (JK)
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