TES hosts first robotics competition
Twenty-three teams compete in the robotics competition hosted by Tharptown Elementary School.
Franklin County, News, Top News Stories FRONT PAGE, Z - News Main, Z - TOP HOME
 By  Lauren Wester Published 
7:47 am Tuesday, November 27, 2018

TES hosts first robotics competition

Nov. 14 Tharptown Elementary School hosted its first robotics competition under the guidance of instructor Jake Ward.

“It was pretty fun. We wanted to set a standard and show what Tharptown can do,” Ward said.

Twenty-three teams participated in the competition that was held at the A.W. Todd Center in Russellville.

“I was blown away by the turn out. We weren’t expecting it,” Ward said.

Teams from Belgreen, Red Bay, Vina and Russellville competed, as well as teams from Florence and Hartselle. Tharptown itself didn’t have any teams participate; Ward said this was to avoid any appearance of favoritism, since people from Tharptown served as judges.

TES teachers who served as judges were Kendra Ward, Erin Masterson, Amanda Odom and Tracy Elgin.

“We had great support from the community, the school and the parents,” Ward said.

The competition was open to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Ward said the biggest age group was the third- through fifth-graders.

Riverhill’s team won the kindergarten through second-grade division. The Vina Devilbots won the third- through fifth-grade division. The Red Bay Tigerbots won the sixth- through eighth-grade division.

Also on Franklin County Times
Educators update states of their schools
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Local educators and community members gathered Thursday at Tharptown High School for the seventh annual State of the Schools program. T...
Dowdy guilty in dog mauling deaths
Main, News, Russellville, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — A Franklin County jury found Brandy Dowdy guilty of one count of manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide after more...
Youth sports policy aims at bad conduct
Main, News, Red Bay, ...
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
RED BAY — Over the course of his 14 years coaching youth league sports, Torrey Lewey has noticed a plethora of changes, one of which includes a tenden...
West sings national anthem for Special Olympics
News, Russellville, Russellville Golden Tigers
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
November 19, 2025
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville High School senior Elijah West sang the national anthem at this year’s Special Olympics, marking his second time to perfor...
Garden club learns about poppy symbolism
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
November 19, 2025
We began our November Cultura Garden Club meeting with a hands-on rock-painting activity led by muralist Ree Shannon of aRo Art & Design Concepts. Ree...
Electricity prices are soaring, and coal is a key solution
Columnists, Opinion
November 19, 2025
Electricity bills are climbing almost everywhere, and the reasons have little to do with ideology. Three forces are driving prices higher: massive new...
PCHS opens with 3 wins
High School Sports, Phil Campbell Bobcats, Sports
Bart Moss For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
The Phil Campbell Bobcats reeled of three straight basketball wins to open the season, beating Tharptown, Winston County and Cherokee. The Bobcats ope...
Young Lady Tigers still in building stage
High School Sports, Red Bay Tigers, Sports
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
November 19, 2025
While most coaches have their hands full managing one team, John Torisky once again returns to coach the Lady Tigers as well — giving him twice the am...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *