Over 90 teams from the local community, including Frenship’s GEAR teams, went head-to-head during the recent Game Day Competition. The event brought together students from across the region to showcase their engineering skills and problem-solving abilities.
Get Excited About Robotics, or GEAR, is a program Frenship elementary and middle school campuses compete in each year. Students and coaches prepare for GEAR Robotics events by building robots with the LEGO Mindstorms program and the EV3 robots.
This year’s GEAR Robotics theme, Robo Ranch, challenged students to design and program robots capable of completing a series of farm-themed tasks. Robots had to feed animals and deliver fresh hay to the barn and pasture without letting the feed touch the ground. Teams also tackled herding sheep, collecting eggs, and designing a brand-new animal that had to fit within a 3-inch square, testing both their creativity and engineering precision.
At the Game Day competition, the 1st and 2nd place teams automatically qualified for the Championship Rounds, and this year, Frenship dominated the competition. Willow Bend 7 and Upland Heights 2 took home 1st and 2nd place in the elementary division, while Frenship Middle School and Heritage Middle School 4 claimed the top two spots in the middle school division, securing their places at the Championship Round.
“It has been a fun adventure this school year,” said Molly Brown, one of the GEAR sponsors at Frenship Middle School. “The students have been working hard. They are good at communicating with each other and have learned each other's strengths and weaknesses. It's been fun watching them grow as a team.”
The Championship Round features the top 28 schools from the Frenship, Amarillo, Midland, and Lubbock tournaments. Along with the 1st and 2nd place winners from each division, the top teams across all divisions are invited to compete as ‘wild card’ competitors. These teams are chosen based on overall performance and scores to fill out the rest of the competition. After all the tournaments wrapped up, Frenship ISD secured an additional 10 spots in the elementary division.
“I am incredibly proud of our teams, as well as those from our fellow elementary schools,” said Sandra Dannemiller, the GEAR sponsor at Willow Bend Elementary. “From the start, they quickly learned the importance of collaboration, perseverance, and teamwork as they navigated challenges and frustrations along the way.”
The teams will compete next weekend at the Region 17 Education Service Center, facing tough competition and aiming for the championship title. With last-minute practices, Frenship students are gearing up their robots and are prepared to take on the challenge.
Frenship teams advancing to the Championship Round:
Elementary
- Willow Bend 7 – 1st place
- Upland Heights 2 – 2nd place
- Legacy 3 – Wild Card
- Legacy 5 – Wild Card
- Legacy 6 – Wild Card
- North Ridge 1 – Wild Card
- North Ridge 3 – Wild Card
- Oak Ridge 2 – Wild Card
- Upland Heights 1 – Wild Card
- Upland Hights 3 – Wild Card
- Westwind 4 – Wild Card
- Willow Bend 3 – Wild Card
Middle School
- Frenship Middle School – 1st place
- Heritage Middle School 4 - 2nd place