The TriSonics are having their best season yet, and this weekend's competition is no different. In Grand Rapids, MI at the Delta Plex, Michigan FIRST Robotics teams have gathered to compete that their district championship. Our high school team had a rough start to their season, at their first competition they were plagued with many robot malfunctions that made their performance less than what they had hoped. These students didn't let that get them down though, between their first and second competition they made many adjustments and upgrades and that was reflected in their performance at the West Michigan District.
The team was excited to hear that they had earned enough district points to qualify for the Michigan State Championship, which is where they were this past weekend. The TriSonics students' came into the weekend with some goals in mind - to perform the best they can and to qualify for the World Championship in St. Louis, MO. Their robot, "Wheely", was working just as it was supposed to and many of its features were getting attention from other teams and the judges. The TriSonics were well known for their unique turret design that allowed them to shoot the balls from anywhere on the field. They were also known for the 35mph shot that the next door neighbors could probably hear.
After playing their 12 qualification matches, the TriSonics were ranked 3rd out of the 102 teams that were competiting at this competition. As a team in their 5th year, competiting against teams going into their 20th, they were beyond excited with their performance. During alliance selection they picked 1023: Bedford Express (former Michigan State Champions), which is a very prestigous and famous FIRST Robotics team. Their alliance was a force to be reckoned with, they easiliy qualified out of the Octofinals - but in the Quarterfinals the TriSonics faced some technical difficulties. Our students didn't let that get in the way though, with some quick fixes between matches they were back up and running and qualified out of the Quarterfinals as well.
In the Semifinals, the TriSonics' alliance knew they wouldn't be able to win easily. They were playing against the alliance that was favored to win the entire competition. In a best out of 3 tournament, the opposing alliance took the win. In the second match, however, the TriSonics' alliance pulled out a win by 6 points and forced a rubber match. Unfortunately, the opposing alliance got the best of them and their alliance was eliminated. The opposing alliance went on to become Michigan State Champions.
However, the TriSonics were still extremely proud of their performance and they are all very excited to be traveling to St. Louis, MO in 2 weeks!