An award-winning robotics team at the Newton College and Career Academy pushes the limits of design, discipline and collaboration while proving what students can achieve through relentless preparation and shared purpose.
Success has become the norm when it comes to the robotics team at Newton College and Career Academy.
VEX Robotics reveals a completely new game challenge each year. It is the task of the robotics teams to analyze the game, create a strategy to play it, design a robot capable of executing that strategy and build and program their custom design. They test themselves in local competitions across the state, as well as in regional contests called signature events, which are held throughout the nation. VEX Robotics is a premier robotics platform for pre-K through university students, focusing on STEM education through designing, building and programming robots.
With a season defined by championships, top honors and global rankings, VEX Robotics Team 8682A from the Newton College and Career Academy has emerged as the top-ranked squad in the state of Georgia and one of the most competitive student robotics teams in the world. Its 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. The team is coached by Zach Pitts.
“From day one, this team has committed itself to nothing short of perfection, knowing that perfection is not a destination but an expedition into what is possible.”
Zach Pitts
“I started coaching VEX robotics in the county in 2015,” he said. “I arrived at NCCA for the 2019–20 season and took over coaching the 8682 teams. This team, 8682A, was formed last year.” Pitts described how the complex process works. “Just as important as building and programming, the team also creates documentation using the engineering design process—a step-by-step problem-solving method used by engineers,” he said. “This documentation includes all research, decisions, team meetings, CAD designs, testing procedures, results, reflections and iterations the team has completed throughout the year.”
In addition, team members must also prepare for interviews with judges, which are conducted at every tournament.
“To give you an idea of the scope of work Team 8682A has taken on, they have created nearly 900 pages of documented evidence spanning three different robot designs,” Pitts said. “Moreover, the time and energy these students devote to their sport is impressive. Early in the season, team members arrived as early as 6:30 a.m. before school to work on their robot. They stay after school daily until 5 p.m. They have taken robots and competition fields home over breaks. They have worked tirelessly and selflessly to create not only a great robot but what I describe as a great product.”
The product of a robotics team is all-encompassing: teamwork, team management, documentation, interviews, programming, collaboration and decision making. The five students on this team share one focus: To define what greatness looks like when individuals truly become a team.
“From day one, this team has committed itself to nothing short of perfection, knowing that perfection is not a destination but an expedition into what is possible,” Pitts said. “Few teams take this challenge as far as I have witnessed 8682A take it. For them, every day is an opportunity to get better at their craft. Every day is a chance to answer the question of what is possible. They do this through solid, unyielding focus on teamwork, exemplary communication, mastery of roles and sharing the responsibility of leadership.”
Students began preparation as soon as the new challenge was revealed at the World Championships.
“They were already sketching and prototyping ideas that very night,” Pitts said. “The team continued early in the season, working over the summer prototyping different ideas in Ian’s garage. NCCA held a VEX camp during the summer to provide concentrated time for research, experimentation and mentorship. The team came in early and stayed late to take full advantage of the opportunity.”
The students push themselves to be the best.
“Logan and Ian, principal builders of the robot, started coming in early to complete a fully working prototype robot for testing,” Pitts said. “Their teammates, Derek and Chloee, worked tirelessly to keep up with the fever pace of the builders to record the engineering design process and create the framework that would become the team’s engineering design notebook. Nathan, the coder, also prepared programs to help the team test robots and documented his efforts in running routes and preparing autonomous programs. Together, they vetted robot designs, reflected on their work and, when the time came, started the entire process over again. This was all done with one goal in mind: to be the best.”
There are many sides to preparation. In VEX, tournaments require scouting, evaluating teams, participating in judges’ interviews, keeping a competition robot running and speaking with potential alliance partners for elimination rounds. Planning and developing strategies for navigating all these situations truly separates prepared teams from their ill-prepared counterparts. Preparation has certainly paid off for the NCCA team. It has become one of the most successful squads in Georgia history, accumulating awards while winning both regional and local tournaments. In 11-plus competitions, 8682A has amassed eight excellence awards, seven tournament championships, four robotics skills awards and a design award. It has qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championship in April.
“NCCA Robotics has enjoyed much success over the years,” said Pitts, who credited RESRG, Meta and the Station Springs Data Center for their support. “Historically, we have had three different teams each year, all working on their own unique designs and ideas. Across those teams, NCCA Robotics has won numerous tournaments and awards over the past seven years, including qualifying for the world tournament six years in a row. Among those teams, the program has produced four separate state championship teams. Of those four teams, two have also earned the excellence award at the state level. The program has additionally had one world division finalist and one world division quarterfinalist.”
Winning first place is only part of the story.
“The true measure of success is the number of students who graduate from the program prepared for the workforce or to attend college,” Pitts said. “Students in the program discover a passion for engineering and mechatronics. Our success stories include Natalie Henderson, a 2023 state champion who went straight to work for RESRG as an industrial engineer immediately after high school. We also have success stories like Bobby Stephenson, a former programmer and state champion who received a scholarship from Amazon to continue his passion for programming and learning at Georgia Tech. I could go on and on.”
NCCA Principal Chad Walker honors the work the students have done.
“What these students have accomplished is truly remarkable,” he said. “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 prouder of them.”
Click here to read more stories by Chris Bridges.
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