Parker Robotics Leads the League!

We had a big weekend for Parker Robotics. Our two FTC teams, Robotheosis (Team 3507) and Frank’s Garage (Team 9410), hosted and competed in the Chicago North League Championships at Parker. Thanks so much to all the parents and volunteers who spent the day with us to make this a smooth and successful event. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback about the event from our visiting teams, and it is thanks to you.

Since our last competition, Robotheosis completely redesigned the robot, resulting in their most sophisticated design and build to date. The team got the robot working only days before competition and had not completed all the programming, troubleshooting and tuning. The team improved steadily in qualification matches throughout the day and achieved a league high score of 93 and a stack of eight stones (one of the highest stacks in Illinois this year). Their high scoring potential turned a lot of heads, and they were the first overall pick during alliance selection. They joined STEMper Fi (Team 10836 from Elmhurst) as the #1 alliance for the best of three elimination rounds.

Frank's Garage continued the steady and reliable play they have demonstrated all season. They have spent many hours practicing on the field and incrementally improving their design. They finished the qualification matches in fourth place out of 19 teams. They were the #3 alliance captain and chose RoboTitans (Team 7006 Chicago Math and Science Academy) to be their partner.

In the semifinals, Robotheosis and STEMper Fi defeated the #4 alliance (Team 14422 Alcott College Prep and Team 17403 Roarbotics-Lincoln Park HS) in two of the most dominant performances of the day.

In the second semifinal, Frank's Garage and RoboTitans were big underdogs facing the #2 alliance of Animatores Romani (Team 4965 Latin) and Bionic Bulldogs (Team 12982 Riverside-Brookfield Township HS). In nail-biting fashion, our rookie members pulled off consecutive upset victories (62-57 and 63-61) to advance to the finals. The energy in the gym was amazing.

The two Parker teams faced off in the finals to take the league championship. It took a third-game tiebreaker before Robotheosis pulled out an exciting tournament win.

The judges recognized both our teams with awards in addition to trophies for their on-field performance. Frank's Garage, a team consisting entirely of first-year FTC students, received the Outstanding Rookie, Highest Ranked Rookie and Finalist Medals and Trophy. Robotheosis received the Design Award and the Winning Alliance Trophy and Medals. By being a member of the winning alliance, Robotheosis also earned the chance to defend their title at the Illinois State Championship on February 21 and 22 in Elgin. More information will follow regarding that event.

Congratulations to both teams!

 

Here are more photos and videos of our teams from some of this season’s events. 

Frank’s Garage Team 9410:
Jack Bowers ’22
Ethan Farkas ’23
Jack Kahan ’23
Ryan Kershner ’23 (not in photo)
Timo Kiep ’23
Drew Klauber v23
Leena Mehta ’23
Hudson Taylor ’23

Robotheosis Team 3507:
Owen Bowers ’20
Jacob Boxerman ’22
Colin Brown ’22 (not in photo)
Benji Gourdji ’21
Finn Hall ’22
James Leet ’20 (not in photo)
Madeline Leja ’21 (not in photo)
TK Muro ’21
Isabel Olesinski ’20
Will Rantala ’20 (not in photo)
Star Rothkopf ’22
Yaaseen Sabir ’21
Tessa Samuels ’21
Ryder Selikow ’22
Elijah Underhill-Miller ’20