T-Town Tech is Going to STATE Competition!!

T-Town Tech is Going to STATE Competition!!
Posted on 04/03/2023

It was a very eventful Spring Break for the Tekonsha Robotics Team, T-Town Tech. The team completed both of their season events and ended with a qualifying score to participate in the FIRST Robotics Michigan State Championship Event held at Saginaw Valley State University on April 6-8th!

 

To best understand the rankings and success of the team, it is important to understand how the competitions work. FIRST competitions are different than than most other sports, as teams compete within "alliances." Each match consists of three different teams working together in an alliance against another three teams. In all of the preliminary matches, teams compete both with and against all of the other teams. This allows each team to not only earn a ranking based on matches won and points earned within the match, but also for teams to see the unique strengths that each individual robot contributes to an alliance. The top 10 ranked teams at the end of the preliminary play then have the opportunity to advance into a double elimination tournament. They also select the two teams that they would like to join them as part of their tournament alliance.

 

The team traveled to Lakeview High School to compete in their first competition of the season from March 23-25. It was a great learning experience for the entire team, with a solid finish of 29th out of 39 teams. Although not selected as part of a tournament alliance, the team left with a stronger understanding of how the game works and areas to improve upon.

 

They then traveled to Kentwood High School on March 30 - April 1, where they had an impressive finish of 18th out of 39 teams. They were also awarded with the award for being the Highest Rookie Seed of the event! They waited anxiously as each of the tournament teams selected their alliance team members. As the last selection was made, the top ranked team, the BraveBots of Gladstone, MI, announced that they had selected T-Town Tech to join their tournament alliance! This meant that Tekonsha Robotics was headed into the semi-finals. Rounding out the championship alliance was Enigma Robotics, from Grand Rapids, MI. The three teams went on to compete in the the semifinals, advancing undefeated into the finals!

 

The final matches were a best of 2 out of 3 matches. After remaining undefeated in all of the semifinals, the T-Town Tech alliance lost their first finals match. However, the alliance rebounded quickly, with strong wins in the next two matches to secure the championship win! Additionally, based on their own individual performance, T-Town Tech was awarded the Rookie All-Star Award for the event!

 

The team will now travel to SVSU to compete this coming weekend. If you would like to support the team, there is an additional cost for the registration and participation in this event, so any additional sponsorships of the team are greatly appreciated! Any donations can be dropped off at the HS office. Checks can be made out to Tekonsha Community Schools.

 

Additionally, a limited number of T-Town Tech t-shirts will be available for sale (cash or check only - made out to Tekonsha High School) at the cost of $10 each. Please stop by the HS office if you are interested. When we have the link of the live stream available, we will post in on the district Facebook page!

 

Good luck and congratulations to all of the T-Town Tech team members: Vayda Nyland, Preston Pombier, Barric Groholske, David Cole, and Caleb Emison. Special shout-out to coaches Ryan Groholske and Matt Lindsey, and team mom, Krista Groholske!

 

A special thank you to their amazing sponsors:

  • Tekonsha Fire Department
  • Bronze Sponsor-Matt Cuckler, Daryl Blashfield, and Alvin Lautzenheiser
  • Bronze Sponsor- Adams Shirt Shack
  • Bronze Sponsor - Jorgensen Steel
  • Silver Sponsor- Asama
  • Gold Sponsor-Custom Agri Systems Inc.
  • Platinum Sponsor- Courtesy Car and Truck
  • Platinum Sponsor-Southern Michigan Bank and Trust
  • Diamond Sponsor- Spartan Ins.
  • Diamond Sponsor -J & J
  • Diamond Sponsor- Hampton Co.
  • Diamond Sponsor- Groholske Farms