High school students battle for top robot

Blue and Red alliance clash for game pieces known as “notes,” March 23, 2024, at the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University. (credit: Alex Martinez).

Dylan Kris, right, a student from Northwood High School and member of Team 45, The Cat Attack, and mentor Jared of Cat Attack, March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

Team 3015, Ranger Robotics from Spencerport High School, wins the Autonomous Award, March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

A referee makes a call on the Red Alliance, March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

Red and Blue Alliance fans in the stands at the Wolstein Center, waiting for the winners of the final match on March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

Robotics teams get their robots ready for matches, March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

Tim Fuller, a mentor for Team 4121, Viking Robotics, shows off the team’s workstation, March 23, 2024. (credit: Alex Martinez).

By ALEX MARTINEZ - posted April 7, 2024

55 high school teams competed for top robot at the 25th annual FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Buckeye Regional competition at the Wolstein Center from March 20-23.

Before the competition, students were given six weeks to raise funds and use their skills to design a robot with the help of professional mentors for each team.

This year's final game was “Crescendo.” Teams raced to collect circular game pieces called “notes,” power up their robots, then take the stage at the end of the match.

They were put into randomly- selected alliances in the qualification rounds, that were split evenly into the Blue and Red alliances before setting their 120 lb robots to work in the final.

This setup encouraged cooperation and friendly competition among the students who were from different states.

“We’re a local team only being an hour south of here, so we love coming here since it’s so close,” said Tim Fuller, a mentor for Team 4121, Viking Robotics. “The competition has always been very good and the students have had the chance to go to previous events to work out the bugs of the robots.”

Guests were allowed to visit the pit area and take a closer look at how students tinker with their robots and were encouraged to ask questions to students when it comes to robotics.

Before the final matches, awards were handed out to several teams. Among them, the Judge’s award went to Team 8222, The Argonauts, and Team 4467, Titanium Titans, won the Team Sustainability Award.

The spirit of the competition made every team a winner. Even those that didn't come in first were able to learn from their mistakes and improve for next time.

“I would spent more time with the climber, we need to relook at the climber system specifically weight balance” said Dylan Kris, a student from Northwood High School and member of Team 451, The Cat Attack. ”This is my first year here and the team has been around for 25 years.”

The next event on the FIRST Robotics competition calendar is the FIRST Championships in Houston, Texas, April 17-20.