By Hannah Haseltine
Last week, Melrose High School’s robotics team, Red Hawk Robotics, competed at District Championships in West Springfield. Despite some complications on the first day of qualification matches, the team was able to resolve the issues and place sixteenth overall.
The team was picked first by the sixth seed alliance headed by team 4909, the Bionics, from Billerica, Massachusetts. Driver and Captain Brennan Cesar represented the team in alliance selections, and helped team 4909 round off the team’s alliance with team 131, CHAOS, from Manchester, New Hampshire. The semi finals were double elimination, and the team’s alliance unfortunately did not proceed to the finals.
Overall, the Red Hawks are ranked 25th in New England out of 185 teams, officially punching their ticket to the World Championship in Houston, Texas from April 19th through the 23rd. This marks incredible growth from last season, which was the team’s first time attending the District Championship, at which they had placed 58th.
The team has been in existence since their rookie year in 2009, but the team’s new crew of veteran FRC mentors has been the key to their newfound success. “These mentors have given us the critical robotics experience that the team was missing in prior seasons,” Elizabeth Giovanardi, one of the team’s mentors since the team was founded, says. “Last year we made it to New England Districts, this year we made it to the World Championships! We are all excited to keep growing together.”
MEMBERS OF THE TEAM packed up the robot in preparation for their journey to Houston.