The Gladiators, known in robotics competition circles as Team 1591, was a dominating force in the recent Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics competition, March 15-18, 2023. They remained in first place throughout the competition, going on to win with a record of 13-1-0 and earning them their first trip to the World Championship, this year hosted in Houston, Texas from April 19-22, 2023.
The Gladiators also competed in Pennsylvania at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional Competition, April 6-8, 2023, where they took second place. The team was invited to join Alliance 1, and were undefeated in their playoff matches. They brought home the blue banner.
Going into the World Competition, Greece Gladiators Robotics Team 1591 is ranked first out of 141 teams in the State of New York, 26th in the USA, and 27th in the World, with 3,200+ robotic teams worldwide. Through tears, Greece Gladiators Coach Maressa Ranalletti described the FIRST Championship as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for the students who have devoted hundreds of hours to constructing and training with their robot, who they named Two Chains. Robotics teams like the Gladiators are run like a business. Students work with mentors to design, build, wire, and program their robot. They are also in charge of raising the $10,000 to $15,000 necessary to compete. Ranked in the top 10 in New York State, Ranalletti is excited to bring her Gladiators to the international competition.
There are 26 students on the team and participation is open to interested students from all four Greece high schools. Worlds is the culminating, international event for the youth robotics competition season and an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). In addition to winning the Finger Lakes Regional competition, Greece Gladiators were also recognized with the autonomous award for programming and robot consistency.
Coach Ranalletti was named the Woodie Flowers Award winner, an organizational acknowledgement for excellence in coaching. The award was founded by Dr. William Murphy in 1996 to recognize mentors within the FIRST Robotics Competition who lead, inspire, and empower using excellent communications skills. Ranalletti said, “The Woodie Flowers is a truly iconic award, and I never dreamed that I would be named the winner in just my 7th year of coaching. It is truly an honor.” She and assistant coach Lori Mannhardt are both Arcadia High School graduates and are among just a few female coaches in local competition. They have worked hard to encourage girls to try robotics and currently have 11 young women on Team 1591.
Ranalletti credits the Gladiator’s success to the dedication of the students on the team and the outstanding volunteer mentors they have recruited over time. These adult mentors work directly with students in specialized teams focused on mechanical, programming, electrical, Computer Aided Design (CAD), marketing, and scouting (statistics and strategy).
The Greece Central School District generously covered the Travel and Stay expenses for the entire Robotics Team for their trip to the World Championships in Houston, Texas. Many community members also contributed to fund additional excursions for the team while in Texas.
Greece Gladiators Team 1591 Members:
Arcadia – Duy Bui, Giomar Garcia-Maldonado and Izaak Mendelsohn.
Athena – Leora Blum, Grace Campbell, Sudhan Chhetri, Montana Harris, Vincent Giordano, Evan Keenan, Carolyn Lochner, Justin Mannhardt, Sophia Vacek and Ryan Wolicki.
Odyssey – Kiley Broyld, Kameron Cooper, Danielle Donahue, Dylan Dunaway, Natalie Ford, Jonathan Gagner, Jiana’Li Gonzalez, David Hetzel, Willa Kelly, Isabelle Lioi, Nic Morales and Nick Viola.
Olympia – Eddie Frank.Greece Gladiators Team 1591
Coaches and Mentors: Maressa Ranalletti (Coach), Lori Mannhardt (Assistant Coach), Darren Blum, Emilie Hamwey, Korona Kelly, Greg Mendelsohn, Ted Phillips, Scott Phillips, Wryder Streeter-Haines and Jeff Tuttle.
Donations are needed to help the Gladiators remain competitive and expand from a three-month program to a year-round program. Ranalletti would like to add a middle school robotics program, which also requires funding. If you’re interested in supporting the Greece Gladiators Team 1591, mail checks payable to Rochester Community Robotics with Team 1591 in the memo line, to Greece Central School District, Attention Maressa Ranalletti, 750 Maiden Lane, Rochester, NY 14615.
For the results of the World Championship competition in Houston, Texas, and the latest on Greece Robotics Team 1591 visit the student designed website www.gladiatorsrobotics.org
Provided Information
Photos by Karen Fien
