All four Elmbrook FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) teams qualified for the State Championship that was held at the MSOE Kern Center on Saturday, March 5. Two of the teams, the GEarheads and Team Hazmat, won the state competition and they will represent Wisconsin as they advance to the World Finals held in Texas this April.
Team Hazmat (composed of students from Brookfield Central High School) won the Inspire Award at the event for being the team that best embodies the challenge of the competition and the role model team. This is the 2nd time in a row that Team Hazmat brings the prestigious Orange Banner to the school. The GEarheads (composed of students from Wisconsin Hills, Brookfield Central & East) was Captain of the Winning Robot Alliance. They also took second for the Design Award for setting an industry best design for both functionality and aesthetics, and third for the Innovate Award which focuses on ingenuity and creativity in the robot’s building. Together the GEarheads and Team Hazmat collaborated during a qualifying round to achieve a State Record Score of 318, which was one of the highest scores in the world. Student Aman Amjad was nominated as an individual for the Dean’s Finalist award and will be one of three students to represent Wisconsin at the World Finals on behalf of his leadership and dedication of the most outstanding secondary school students from FIRST.
Additionally, Superstellar, the first-year all-girls team composed of students from PPMS, WHMS, & BCHS brought home first place for the Connect Award which celebrates a team “connecting the dots between their community, STEM disciplines, and the diversity of the engineering world”. Rising Rhinobots was also part of the Winning Robot Alliance and placed third for the Connect Award.
Congratulations to all students on their hard-working and incredible seasons, thank you to the dedicated parent volunteers, coaches, and sponsors, and best of luck to teams competing at the World Finals this April!
(Pictured below Top L to R: Team Hazmat, Superstellar; Bottom L to R: The GEarheads, Rising Rhinobots)
