Mayor recognizes Robotics team

Madison Middle School Robotics team members each received certificates Tuesday night from the the city recognizing their competition against schools all over the world.

The students recognized by the Madison Mayor and Board of Aldermen included Marshall Oshinsky, Grayson Davenport, Cashel Cunning, Selby Booth, Matthew Cobb, William Henson, Grayson Carmody, Rett Daniels, and Everett Watts. 

Robin Tonos ,assistant coach of the Robotics team, was present and Julie Jackson, head of the team, said her students competed against schools from over 500 different countries, including South Korea, Argentina, France, Germany, China, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

They had to qualify in tournaments in the area and once they qualified, they went on to state tournaments.

“My sixth graders won the design award at state, which qualified them for worlds,” Jackson said. “My eighth grade team were finalists in the tournament which also qualified them for worlds, which is the international tournament.”

Jackson said her students began working on their robots after Labor Day 2021, competed in the state tournament in February, and finally the international tournament in Dallas, Texas in May.

“They had to document their journey throughout the whole season and recreate each step they took. They were even interviewed by NASA,” she said.

Jackson’s students finished right in the middle of all the competing schools during the international tournament. Out of 100 teams, her eighth-grade students finished 30th, and her sixth graders finished 63rd.

“The kids loved it, and they can’t wait to go back,” Jackson said.

Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler said she wanted to congratulate the team and recognize their efforts at Tuesday night’s regular board meeting.

“We wanted to say how proud we are of all of you, and keep dreaming big and never forget to pray,” Hawkins-Butler said. “We wanted to officially recognize all of you and you will go down in history with us.”