Hadley Bodell
Sports Editor
Idaho State University freshmen Scooter McLane and Yancey Waddington share the story of how they made it to the VEX World Robotics Competition three times, won over 15 trophies and two state titles, and how they’re continuing to impact the robotics world today.
POCATELLO, Idaho: From the small town of Caldwell, Idaho, Scooter McLane and Yancey Waddington made history by competing in both state and world competitions for VEX robotics and becoming the first Idahoans to win a world championship trophy and qualify for the top 16 teams in their division their senior year.
McLane and Waddington’s robotics journey began at Vallivue Middle School in their hometown of Caldwell, Idaho. McLane commented he became interested in robotics in 7th grade when he overheard kids talking about it in their friend group. Waddington recalls one presenter talking to his class and saying they could get to Indianapolis for a competition for robotics, and he was sold.
Many people, including me, didn’t understand what a robotics competition entails, and what it means to win them. McLane provided some context, stating, “You’d be surprised but it is stressful. You have qualification matches where everything in the tournament is randomly assigned two versus two, there’s an interview and notebook section, and then a skills portion.” In the competitions, there are three main trophies awarded, as well as some judges’ awards given at World Championships.
Their first experience with a state competition was in 8th grade, and they barely squeaked by to make it to Worlds, but the real journey began their junior year at the Idaho State competition. The boys recalled having a robot that was slightly subpar but were smart with their decisions and played to their strengths. They also said there was a lot of luck involved in that first tournament, as some of the best teams went out in the first round due to huge upsets.
Their second appearance at the state competition felt more prepared. McLane stated, “We worked so hard in preparation so we knew we could win.” Once again, the team walked away with the state championship trophy.
Winning a state title in anything is no small feat, and these boys did it not once, but twice. When asked how it felt to win state and qualify for Worlds, McLane said, “The first time we won was so exhilarating, a big thrill. The second time was more relief, we knew we were expected to win. There was a lot of pressure on us to win because of our reputation and being the reigning champs, there was high expectations for us before the season even started.”
Flying across the country to compete in the World VEX Competition their senior year, McLane and Waddington (their team named Kappa Sigma Kappa) joined by their coder Elizabeth and friend Morgan prepared themselves and their robot for a more intense competition. Waddington stated, “I feel like at Worlds you get a whole different atmosphere of kids. There are people there competing who you know are going to make it to Apple one day.”
At Worlds, Kappa Sigma Kappa competed with teams from China, Ireland, Canada, and Mexico. Their senior year, during the Round of 16, they beat the highest offensively rated alliance in their division, one team being from Kazakhstan. They then faced the number one seeded team and reigning world champs, and only lost because of their aggressive defensive tactics, leading to a motor falling out mid-match. McLane said, “It’s good to know we lost that match because I was playing so hard.”
Competing on the world stage obviously comes with its own hiccups and challenges. In the end, it ended up being their adaptability to the competition that earned them success. McLane commented, “To be dead honest, the biggest challenge was our skill level. We had to adapt during the competition because our robot was good offensively, but it wasn’t totally reliable or good enough to go far. I started playing defense instead.”
It would be McLane’s defensive skills that brought them to the top 16 teams in their division at the World Championships. Out of 800 teams, they were the 4th best defensive team in the world. When asked how it felt to place so high in defense, Waddington said, “It didn’t feel as good because there aren’t trophies for defense, that’s just a stat that we won. But the year before we won the judges’ sportsmanship award, and only about 1 in 8 teams get a trophy, so that was pretty cool.”
Walking away with over 15 trophies and three state championship banners, McLane and Waddington are among robotics royalty. Today, they’re working on starting a VEXU club at Idaho State University. They plan to start small, with a two-robot team and a manageable group of passionate builders and coders.
Waddington wants to be the event runner for the club and help to put on a robotics tournament back in the Treasure Valley, saying, “community outreach and motivating the next generation is super important. We’ve been asked to help with two tournaments so far, I’m excited to help the next generation perfect the craft by being a mentor to those people at tournaments now.” He states this could lead to more people finding out about ISU and the opportunities there, helping with recruitment for the university and the ISU VEXU club.
The ISU VEXU club would be the first in Idaho, and one of only four in the Pacific Northwest. The west isn’t developed with VEXU yet, and Waddington said, “We could be pioneers of that and bring VEX to the universities of the western US.”
Whether it be a future in competing with VEXU at Idaho State University, helping teach the next generation the craft and competition of robotics, or a combination of both, the sky certainly seems to be the limit for Scooter McLane and Yancey Waddington.
