Robotics Competition wraps up in Escanaba
ESCANABA — 40 teams from across the state descended to Escanaba for the FIRST Robotics Competition.
After two days of action, it all came down to six teams on two alliances. The Red Alliance, made up of the teams from Houghton, Gladstone, and Calumet faced off against the Blue Alliance, made up of Ypsilanti, Hopkins, and Hemlock.
The competition was decided in a best out of three format. In the end, the Blue Alliance took care of business, winning two matches to secure the championship title.
“We’ve got a team of 26 kids and for the first year they have had to be patient with us. In all honesty, we haven’t always known what we’re doing. I was extraordinarily nervous and the matches up here have been really close. It was really exciting and just a great place to be,” said Tom Lockwood, a mentor at Hemlock H.S.
“We just have a really good alliance as team members and luck kind of helped us definitely. We were doing shoot all day, a shoot feeder. We can do a landfill which made a difference, and we can lift up bins,” said Jeremy Rabie, a student at Hemlock H.S.
“It was awesome. My hear is still off–beat right now so that’s why I’m so hyper, but it’s amazing. It was real interesting because this is my first year. So I was a rookie driver so I was nervous throughout the whole match until it was over,” said Precious Watson from Ypsilanti H.S.
In the end, all of the teams there gained valuable experience on how to make their robots succeed in the long–term.