The awards and victories keep coming for the various Xavier robotics teams. On Saturday, in a 25-team event at Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Xavier had four teams competing (The FullMetal Merlins, FullMetal Peregrines, FullMetal Phoenixes, and Semi-Platinum Penguins).
The Merlins placed first in qualifiers and chose the Peregrines and another team (Armored Artemises, from Glastonbury), while the Phoenixes also found their way to the semifinals through the selection by another alliance captain (Hotchkiss EFX Gearcats A, a team from Hotchkiss school in Lakeville).
Those three Xavier teams all advanced to the finals, where the Merlins' alliance (which included the Peregrines) won the event, marking the Merlins as winning alliance captain and the Peregrines as winning alliance member.
The Peregrines won the Connect Award for their outreach, particularly the robotics summer camp at Xavier, and placed third for the Inspire Award, given to a team that is exemplary in all categories.
In addition, Chase Creedon (sophomore) and Rithik Kurup (junior) were nominated by their team as Dean’s List semifinalists, which honors members who exemplify the spirit of FIRST robotics, and had their interviews at this event. The Dean’s List finalists will be announced at the state championship on Feb. 26.
The Merlins now have four of the top 10 scores in the state and are considered the top team in the state overall.
This was the third event of the season for Xavier.
At the second event, the Where's Wolcott Qualifier, four of our five Xavier Robotics teams competed: the Kestrels, the Peregrines, the Phoenixes, and the Penguins. In a qualifier of 14 teams, the FullMetal Kestrels placed third and the Peregrines placed fifth. For the semifinals, the Kestrels and the Peregrines worked as alliance partners but did not reach the finals.
The Peregrines won the Motivate Award, which honors teams that work to promote STEM education and FIRST robotics. The Kestrels won the Inspire Award, the highest award in FTC, for being an exemplary team in all categories.
In the first district event earlier this season, the Gearhead Grinder in Winsted on Jan. 5, the Kestrels and Merlins competed, placing third and first in qualifiers, both making it to the semifinals. They each won an award: the Think Award for engineering process and team plan (Kestrels), and the Design Award (Merlins).