Robotics team wins Breakthrough Award – Salyersville Independent

NEW JERSEY – The Magoffin County Master Crafters, the robotics group from Magoffin County Schools, traveled to New Jersey and New York City for nationals last weekend, coming home as back-to-back Breakthrough Award winners.

Robotics Coach Jerica Conley said it was a very long and exhausting few days, but the MC Master Crafters put in the work.

“Being in the top 3% internationally even to qualify for this competition, they have poured every drop of their heart and soul into their Innovation Project, Robot Games, Lightning Rounds with their alliance partners, and Core Values while exhibiting Gracious Professionalism and Cooperition,” Conley said.

“Barely even getting 10 minutes for lunch, they competed from 9:40am until 4:00pm with a 30 minute presentation with a panel of judges the day before that.”

The team had an extremely successful two days by scoring the highest robot game score that they had personally ever scored. They also were entered into lightning robot game rounds where they were paired with an alliance team and had to work together with them to battle other teams.

“We advanced to the second round of lightning rounds and came super close to making it to the third,” Conley said.

Overall, out of 64 teams from across the nation, the little team from Eastern Kentucky won the Breakthrough Award, which is the sole award given to “the team that made significant progress in their confidence and capability in the robot games and innovation project. They are a shining example of excellent core values. They demonstrate that they understand that what they discover is more important than what they win.”

“It’s safe to say we are extremely proud of this team and we hope that their experience this year has been a fun one,” Conley said. “We know that the skills they have adapted are those that will follow them throughout their educational career and into adulthood.”

CONGRATULATIONS MC MASTER CRAFTERS!!