With a season defined by championships, top honors, and global rankings, VEX Robotics Team 8682A from Newton College and Career Academy has emerged as the top-ranked team in the state of Georgia and one of the most competitive student robotics teams in the world. Their success reflects a relentless commitment to engineering excellence, strategic thinking and collaboration at the highest level of competition.
Team 8682A is comprised of students Logan Knight, Ian Carter, Derek Gawlinski, Nathanial Igarashi and Chloee Yaple, whose collective efforts have driven the team’s remarkable performance throughout the 2025–26 season.
“What these students have accomplished is truly remarkable,” said Chad Walker, principal of Newton College and Career Academy. “Their success reflects not only their talent and work ethic, but also their ability to collaborate, problem-solve, and perform at the highest level. Team 8682A is representing our school and the Newton County community with pride on the world stage, and we could not be more proud of them.”
VEX Robotics is a global, student-centered competition in which teams design, build, program and document robots to compete in a new game each year. This season’s challenge, Push Back, requires teams to engineer robots capable of retrieving and scoring game pieces while strategically countering opponents—demanding precision, adaptability and advanced problem-solving skills.
Team 8682A is coached by Zachary Pitts and Patrick Alligood. According to Pitts, the team’s success is built on both a strong foundation and a unique team dynamic.
“There are several factors that make 8682A stand out,” Pitts said. “They stand on the shoulders of giants; they have inherited a legacy of multiple state championships from previous teams. They also have incredible support—from district leadership, especially Dr. Tim Schmitt, and our administrators at NCCA to long-standing community partners. But the biggest factor is the intangible chemistry of this team. When students unite with one vision and focus, and dare to dream bigger than themselves, that is when true success happens.”
Team 8682A’s performance has resulted in impressive rankings at every level of competition. The team is currently ranked first in the state of Georgia, 157th in the world for Skills Score, and 17th globally in Real Skills Rankings, with a current season record of 95 wins, 10 losses and zero ties. They have also received multiple invitations to compete at the World VEX Robotics Championship in St. Louis this April.
Pitts explained that the team’s top state ranking is driven by excellence in the Skills Challenge.
“That ranking comes specifically from the Skills Challenge,” Pitts said. “Unlike head-to-head matches, Skills is just our robot against the clock. It requires excellence in two very different areas: driver control and autonomous coding. To be number one, you can’t have a weak link in either. What looks like a simple one-minute run is the result of hundreds of hours of labor.”
Behind the accolades is an intense level of preparation and commitment. Pitts noted that the team’s work began over the summer and continued through an intensive boot camp and a demanding school-year schedule that includes early morning lab sessions, after-school work, weekend builds and extensive documentation.
Beyond technical skills, Pitts emphasized the broader impact of the program.
“VEX Robotics directly addresses the need for soft skills,” Pitts said. “Through judging interviews, collaborating with alliance partners from around the world, and presenting their work, our students become not just competitive, but competent communicators.”
For Pitts, character development remains central to the program’s mission.
“The trophies and rankings—while impressive—are secondary to the character of the students who earn them,” Pitts said. “Behind every robot is a group of dedicated young people who have created a brother and sisterhood through a common passion.”
Team 8682A is comprised of students Logan Knight, Ian Carter, Derek Gawlinski, Nathanial Igarashi and Chloee Yaple, whose collective efforts have driven the team’s remarkable performance throughout the 2025–26 season.
“What these students have accomplished is truly remarkable,” said Chad Walker, principal of Newton College and Career Academy. “Their success reflects not only their talent and work ethic, but also their ability to collaborate, problem-solve, and perform at the highest level. Team 8682A is representing our school and the Newton County community with pride on the world stage, and we could not be more proud of them.”
VEX Robotics is a global, student-centered competition in which teams design, build, program and document robots to compete in a new game each year. This season’s challenge, Push Back, requires teams to engineer robots capable of retrieving and scoring game pieces while strategically countering opponents—demanding precision, adaptability and advanced problem-solving skills.
Team 8682A is coached by Zachary Pitts and Patrick Alligood. According to Pitts, the team’s success is built on both a strong foundation and a unique team dynamic.
“There are several factors that make 8682A stand out,” Pitts said. “They stand on the shoulders of giants; they have inherited a legacy of multiple state championships from previous teams. They also have incredible support—from district leadership, especially Dr. Tim Schmitt, and our administrators at NCCA to long-standing community partners. But the biggest factor is the intangible chemistry of this team. When students unite with one vision and focus, and dare to dream bigger than themselves, that is when true success happens.”
Throughout the season, Team 8682A competed in six local tournaments, earning one Design Award, three Robotics Skills Awards, five Tournament Championships and five Excellence Awards. The Excellence Award is the highest honor presented at any VEX Robotics tournament and recognizes teams that demonstrate overall excellence in robot performance, design, documentation and professionalism.
The team also competed in four Signature Events—elevated regional competitions that attract top teams from across the United States and Canada. Their accomplishments at these events include receiving the Excellence Award at the Signature Event held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earning the Excellence Award at Carolina Countdown, and winning the Tournament Championship at the SCORE Showdown at Auburn University.Team 8682A’s performance has resulted in impressive rankings at every level of competition. The team is currently ranked first in the state of Georgia, 157th in the world for Skills Score, and 17th globally in Real Skills Rankings, with a current season record of 95 wins, 10 losses and zero ties. They have also received multiple invitations to compete at the World VEX Robotics Championship in St. Louis this April.
Pitts explained that the team’s top state ranking is driven by excellence in the Skills Challenge.
“That ranking comes specifically from the Skills Challenge,” Pitts said. “Unlike head-to-head matches, Skills is just our robot against the clock. It requires excellence in two very different areas: driver control and autonomous coding. To be number one, you can’t have a weak link in either. What looks like a simple one-minute run is the result of hundreds of hours of labor.”
Behind the accolades is an intense level of preparation and commitment. Pitts noted that the team’s work began over the summer and continued through an intensive boot camp and a demanding school-year schedule that includes early morning lab sessions, after-school work, weekend builds and extensive documentation.
Beyond technical skills, Pitts emphasized the broader impact of the program.
“VEX Robotics directly addresses the need for soft skills,” Pitts said. “Through judging interviews, collaborating with alliance partners from around the world, and presenting their work, our students become not just competitive, but competent communicators.”
For Pitts, character development remains central to the program’s mission.
“The trophies and rankings—while impressive—are secondary to the character of the students who earn them,” Pitts said. “Behind every robot is a group of dedicated young people who have created a brother and sisterhood through a common passion.”
Under the leadership of Pitts and Alligood, Team 8682A continues to represent Newton County Schools with distinction on the VEX Robotics stage locally, nationally, and globally.
