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GLADSTONE -- The Gladstone BraveBots competed at a FIRST Robotics competition this weekend at East Kentwood High School near Grand Rapids. The team decided to do a 3rd competition after their 2nd competition at Standish-Sterling High School ended prematurely on a controversial judge's decision in the playoff matches 2 weeks ago.
The BraveBots were the only Upper Peninsula team that competed with 38 teams from downstate. "Our students worked diligently on scouting and strategizing and came up with plans that allowed us to secure ranking points and win matches we had no business winning." said coach Tim Barron. "They finished qualifying matches ranked #1 overall with a record of 11-1 and were in the driver's seat to select a winning alliance."
The BraveBots selected teams 2075, Enigma, from Grand Rapids and a rookie team 9215 T-Town Tech from Tekonsha, Mich. to compete in the playoffs. The alliance made it to finals by beating the #8, #4, and #2 alliances. In the first round of finals mechanical difficulties led to a loss for the BraveBot alliance with a score of 147-119. The second round of finals the BraveBots alliance won 163-118. The pit crews of the BraveBots and Enigma teams had to work feverishly after each match to get their robots back into working order to be at their best for the deciding match.
"There are a lot of things I am proud of regarding my team but one thing that makes us stand out is our ability to put the hammer down when we need to. I've never had a team so capable in all aspects of robot" said Barron. "With only 15 minutes between matches they had some diagnosing and repairing to do on their own robot as well as assisting their alliance rookie team with cycling batteries and strategizing and as they prepared for their first finals matches. "Watching this team pull together in clutch moments is a real joy for me as a coach," says Barron. "Not only can they take care of themselves but they reach out and help other teams improve."
Match #3 went back and forth with the BraveBots clinching a 3 robot balance just as the buzzer sounded allowing the alliance to win by 11 points. "Winning is always cool, but this team is so much more, I'm just in awe at times when I see the things they accomplish" says Barron.
"My drive team of Sawyer Lynch and Devin Messina along with our human player Landon Fee did an amazing job of handling the pressure and leading us to victory", said Barron. "We did this extra tournament because of the hard work these kids put into that robot. I tell them all the time that the harder they work the luckier they will get. I couldn't be more happy that they got the result they deserved".
The BraveBots head to Saginaw Valley State University this week to compete in the FIRST Michigan State Finals and hope to qualify for Worlds in Houston to be held April 19-22.