The learning doesn’t stop after one year. The longer students go in the MoCoRobo program, the more of a foundation they have in the fields of engineering, coding and other related tasks.

Moffat County High School’s robotics program remains hard at work this school year as they work toward more tests of their capability.

The group already saw a great start to the year during the Kendrick Castillo Memorial Tournament at Denver’s Regis University in mid-October, during which they saw a second-place overall finish.

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Besides that distinction, coach and adviser Kristen Nichols added that the team took charge within an alliance of additional schools.

“They had a tough battle all the way to the final match,” she said. “That was a very fun and exciting weekend.”

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The KCMT was an introduction to the season for the program, who are taking lessons learned from that competition for later in the year as they rebuild their machinery and rework its programming as needed.

MoCoRobo is operating out of several connected classrooms on the third floor of MCHS, which is a bit of a change from previous years when they worked out of the vocational ag shop apart from the main school building.

Nichols, Jeremy Boatman and Wayne Stene have been overseeing their work in the space, as the same rules apply that adult supervision is required.

Much of the work is almost a continuation of the previous year, Nichols said.

“We replayed the old game from last year. We replay that in the fall and then in January, they’ll release the new game and then we’ll play it,” she said.

The initial contest is to see how the work holds up between seasons.

The requirements of the game that tests students’ capabilities change each year, so different tasks are required of the metal avatars each time, whether it’s shooting discs or picking items off the floor and moving them.

Nichols noted that while it’s not a battle bot royale, it’s easy to pick up damage that needs to be repaired.

The program still has the previous robot, Bessie, handy, though the new model goes by a different moniker — Barbara.

“Because we have a history of using names that are feminine, we’re just sticking with that theme, I guess,” Nichols laughed.

The program has a variety of ages with more younger students this year after having many robotics kids graduate last spring.

Finding the right people for the right work is key.

After the initial competition, Marie Roberts was working on a side project for the program, a short animated video.

“I’m really good with graphic design and stuff. But I haven’t dipped into animation too much yet so this is kind of my first time,” she said. “It’s just a safety video of all the precautions to make, but I have to be entertaining in less than 30 seconds.”

Roberts noted that while she hadn’t been sure if she’d like robotics, she was pleasantly surprised.

Makylee Ott said she appreciated having another girl on the team.

“Some teams are very guy-like,” she laughed.

As one who has focused more on the computer aspect than the engineering, Ray Merrick said there’s really no division within the group as everyone works together quite well.

“It’s a good place for community, plus most of the most interesting people find their way here,” he said.