Anthony Romeo won’t soon forget March 1.
The Oak Park and River Forest High School science teacher and moderator of the OPRF Robotics Club was at a wedding out of town. Two of his teams were participating in the Robotics Education Foundation state finals at Rich Township High School.
As the wedding unfolded, Kelsey Kaiser, his assistant coach who was leading the teams that day, kept in close contact as the tournament progressed.
The pressure built. And not due to the pending nuptials.
The OPRF team known as Electrical Dysfunction was on the verge of making history.
“She’s texting me after every match … ‘We won,’” Romeo said. “Oh, that’s cool. ‘They won another one. They won another one.’ And by the end, she’s like, ‘Okay, they are in the finals. I’m like, ‘No way.’”
Yessir. Not only did Electrical Dysfunction, consisting of seniors Lars Olson, Asher Frank, Sam Premo-Hopkins, Milo Hansen, Sophie He and Lily Zinthefer, make it to the finals, they won the whole thing.
That put them in the VEX Robotics World Championship at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas in early May against students from around the globe – about 900 teams representing 60 countries.
It was a long way from the start of the season, back in September, when Romeo assembled eight teams of 52 total OPRF students, including Electrical Dysfunction, which was anything but dysfunctional by the end of the season.
“For me, it was an amazing way to end off my senior year,” Olson said. “I’ve never gotten that far. I’ve done VEX since sixth grade, and that’s the best I’ve done.”
Added He: “It was just a surreal experience, to see how many different designs there were across different (teams). It was kind of cool to see different cultures and communities.”
Let’s get one thing out of the way early. These aren’t the kind of robots that battle each other with sharp implements, saws and flamethrowers.
No, the season consists of a task that’s in the form of a game called High Stakes, said Zinthefer, who coordinated the coding for Electrical Dysfunction’s robot with Premo-Hopkins.
“There is a 15-second autonomous period and a one-minute, 45-second drive control period, (where) the robot has to do a certain set of tasks.” Zinthefer said. “I would say we never stopped working until the season is done.”
The goal for the locals was to build a conveyer on their robot, which picked up rings off the floor within a square.
“You have an intake and at the other end of your robot, you clamp down on these stakes and you load these rings on to score,” Olson added. “The goal is to put them on little poles.”
Romeo had been to Worlds before at his previous school, so he knew what Electrical Dysfunction would be up against in Dallas. But sometimes, you have to learn for yourself.
“From their first match when they were competing, they instantly realized, ‘Every match is going to be like this state final,’” he said. “The teams in that top level, they don’t make mistakes. We were holding our own, (but) it’s like playing in the NBA. The difference between good and really good is huge.”
Electrical Dysfunction won four matches and lost six and didn’t make it to the championship finals round of their division. But that wasn’t the point.
“I would say it’s definitely different than Chicago,” said He. “I think Chicago is more condensed. It was very spread out in Dallas. Where is everyone? Why is everything so spaced out. It was still a beautiful city.”
Suffice to say, it was the experience that mattered, and not just in Dallas, but throughout the season.
“They are the most humble kids ever,” Romeo said. “They always get in there, try their best, (show) great sportsmanship and helpful to the entire club. They always made time for everybody.
“I could not be prouder.”