Tucked away in the basement of the Dominican Center, the St. Dominic robotics team has been preparing for their qualifier since the end of last season. Our three teams have worked long and hard, but it all payed off. Team 6316 placed 11, team 5560 placed 13 and team 5481 placed 17 all out of 37 teams.

Saturday, February 3, the three SDHS robotics teams headed off to Selvidge Middle School to compete in their qualifier. They knew how much work they had put into their robots, and they were ready to show the competitors.

“Honestly, I was nervous arriving to the competition. We had never been so prepared to compete, and I felt like everything could fall apart. However, as a senior, it would also be my last qualifier with the team, so there was a somber feeling there as well,” said senior Alex Sabala, leader of team 6316.

A lot can be said about the robotics team, but one thing is for sure-they work hard. The team was filled with disappointment last year when the qualifier ended with two teams in the last two places. Almost as soon as that qualifier came to an end, planning for next year began with plenty of team changes.

“This season was drastically different from seasons in the past. We had better leadership, better work ethic and more time and budget to get things done. Not only that, but at the competition, we did much better than in the past years. All three teams did drastically better and one team even won a trophy,” said junior Jack Stout, a member of team 5560.

The competition started with high hopes and excitement as the teams prepared for inspection. Nerves were high, but the team knew what they had to do. Match after match, they walked onto the field robot in hands and confidence high. The teams ended overjoyed by the results.

When the award ceremony started the team was not expecting much. They knew they had fought hard, but no one expected to win the Design Award. Team 5481, led by sophomore John McLoughlin, was given this award because the judges thought their design was creative, innovative and exceptional. St. Dominic Robotics walked away from the competition holding a trophy for the first time ever!

Saturday was filled with exhaustion, anxiety and accomplishment for the St. Dominic Robotics team. The team has shown what they can do and have so far to go. The seniors leave with heavy hearts and the underclassman are eager for next year.