Whiz Kids: Ferndale Robotics Team Ranks Among Top in State

Name: Ferndale High School Robotics Team - The IMPI Warriors

School: Students from

Accomplishments: Ferndale High School's robotics team, the IMPI Warriors, earlier this month.

According to Elin Mathews, an FHS teacher and robotics mentor, the team showed off their robot's versitility and the drive team's skill as they increased their state ranking to 20 out of 193 teams. Though they ultimately weren't chosen for eliminations, the team was ranked in about the top 10 percent in the state.

"All-in-all this was a great experience for the IMPI Warriors and we're already plotting and planning changes for next year to become an even more effective robotics team and an even more effective contributing member of the Ferndale community," Matthews said.

Matthews said the team is grateful for the individuals and businesses that  helped make their "dream a reality" by .

"It made us all very proud to say we are from Ferndale, a community that comes together for its own in a time of need," he said.

Mentor Cathleen Rutsey said the team had eight wins and four losses through qualifications - with two of the team's losses by only one point and another by only three.

"We also won a couple great matches that no one expected us to win," she said. "Everyone was encouraged to do even better next year."

Rutsey said the team had a great experience overall. "This year, we made new friends with other teams, got a chance to see some of the robots that they hadn't seen at the district events we attended, and reconnected with old friends," she said.

Christina Feiner, a sophomore at FHS who is on the robotics team, said participating in robotics offers a "great experience that you can't get from watching it on television or sitting in a classroom."

"I am very proud of my team, we did a great job and we'll do even better next year," she said. "My goal for the rest of the year is to start working on an award we could get for next year. And my goal for next year is to make our team even more successful."

Rutsey offered special thanks to Ferndale High School, , Gary and Twylia Voshol, Brad Parks, GM, Jordan Haines, and the Ferndale community.

Do you know a Whiz Kid?

Each week, Ferndale Patch seeks suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. Submit your nomination in our comment box below or email jessica.schrader@patch.com. Be sure to include all of the following information:

• Nominator's name and email address
• Whiz Kid's name, age and school
• Whiz Kid's accomplishment
• Whiz Kid's key to awesomeness (what made him/her successful?)