Alva Review-Courier -

Students from Burlington High School and Alva High School have advanced to the Regional BEST Robotics competition in Denver, Colorado, on Dec. 16-17, after earning top placings in the Heartland BEST 2023 "Incision Decision" contest at Northwestern Oklahoma State University–Alva Nov. 4.

Burlington earned first in the BEST Award category, the third consecutive year for Burlington to win this category. Dr. Tim Maharry, director of the Heartland BEST competition and chair of the mathematics and computer science department, noted that the BEST award includes a marketing presentation, spirit and sportsmanship, an engineering notebook, a team exhibit, as well as robot performance.

Alva's robotics team earned the top Robot Game Award. These students will compete against other teams from Colorado, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.

Other winners in the BEST overall category were Lawton Academy of Arts & Science, second; Arnett High School, third; and Waynoka High School, fourth.

Others placing in the Game Award category were Leedey High School, second; Arnett High School, third; and Burlington High School, fourth.

"The robotics competition went well, and students seemed to have a good time competing in the game," said Dr. Tim Maharry, director of the Heartland BEST competition and chair of the mathematics and computer science department. "The game competition was very competitive with several teams in the running throughout the semifinals and finals. In the finals, the top two teams were very close, with Alva winning with 1,015 points in the finals followed closely in second by Leedey with 1,000 points."

Special Awards

BEST Coach of the Year – Thure Tolson, Waynoka High School

BEST Spirit & Sportsmanship Award – Burlington High School

BEST T-shirt Award – Pratt (Kansas) High School as voted by the teams

Most Elegant Robot – Burlington High School

Most Photogenic Robot – Waynoka High School

Most Robust Robot – Lawton Academy

Founders Award for Creative Design – Arnett High School

Thure Tolson, coach of the Waynoka High School robotics team (second from right), is awarded Coach of the Year by Heartland BEST director Dr. Tim Maharry (far left), and co-directors Dr. Jenny Sattler (left) and Dr. Mary Riegel.

Teams from Ft. Supply and Vici also were part of the event.

This year the students' robots were created to score points by assisting in various surgical tasks including brain biopsy, cardiac valve repair, coronary artery bypass, cardiac ablation, pacemaker electrode connection, arterial plaque removal and cardiac angioplasty.

This year marks the 21st year that Northwestern has held a BEST competition. BEST stands for Boosting Engineering, Science & Technology.

To learn more about the Heartland BEST Robotics competition at Northwestern, contact Maharry at (580) 327-8583 or [email protected], or co-directors Dr. Mary Riegel, professor of mathematics, at (580) 327-8437 or [email protected] and Dr. Jenny Sattler, associate professor of physics and chair of the department of natural science, at 580-327-8568 or [email protected]. Information also may be found at https://www.nwosu.edu/school-of-arts-and-sciences/natural-science/heartland-best.