Andrey Matott is reporting for the Greenville Pioneer the SpartanBots, Greenville Central School District's robotics team, placed first in the Hudson Valley region at the FIRST Tech Challenge Qualifier Tournament January 13, at Albany Academy. Teams came from as far away as Montreal to participate in the competition, which pitted team-created robots performing enduring tasks to prove their operational ability. Robotics Club Advisor Scott Gardiner said the competition began with the inspection of each robot's hardware and software to confirm it complied with contest rules. A team's rank was determined by taking part in five matches. In the semi-finals, the SpartanBots completed against Red Hook and Broadalbin, and then won two out of three matches in the finals, besting teams from Plattsburgh and Balston Spa to take first place. “The entire Robotics Club team should be very proud of this accomplishment...," Gardiner said. "Our Robotics Club would like to thank the Greenville School District and students' parents for all their support.” The team will now advance to the regional competition at Pace University in February. Read the full story in the Greenville Pioneer.