Both the Hopkins and Wayland High School robotics teams this past weekend dominated competition in the state contests at Saginaw Valley State University.
Both teams qualified to go to Worlds in Huston April 17-21.
Hopkins Team #2054 Tech Vikes continued years of domination during the season.
They led the state leader board most of the weekend while winning match after match. They finished qualifying in second place and joined an alliance with the No. 1-seeded team with the Chimeras from Lapeer.
This alliance proved to be the strongest in their division and came home with first place in their division, a blue banner (to hang in their school) and a chance to compete for the state title
The Tech Vikes were led by mentors Bill Bauman, Angie Flickinger, Cory Fein, Pat Fein, Brant Deemter, Mark Deemter, Max Landrigan, Alex Kloska and Bryce Kuhn. The students were Noah Slyker, Noah Wilfong, Hayden Avery, Lillia Baily, David Bartz, Chloe Billman, Tegan Black, Sora Gamble, Talia Guzman, Samantha Jacobusse, Forrest Jarvis-Finkbeiner, Ayden Kuhn, Kailyn Pant, John Pedala, Ethan Bowser, Ethan DeGood, Faith Flickinger, Juliana Raison, Augusta Veldhouse, Charlotte Hiscock, Oakley Jorgensen and Bree-Ann Long.
The Tech Vikes earlier this year won both of their tournaments at Kentwood and were undefeated in St. Joseph.
On top of getting ready for their season the Tech Vikes worked with Martin Schools to get a team started there.
Wayland’s team was coming off of being the state champion alliance captain in 2023 and the Wildcats won their second tournament at Grand Valley State University and came in third at Muskegon.
Wayland’s team consists of seniors Alex Cross, Corin Vandenbrink, Isabel Cross and Kenzie Brown, juniors Mason Drozd and Nathan Trumbull; sophomores Jack Lyons and Zach Evans, and freshmen Austin Andringa, Kristi Kuyt and Louis Harnish.
Team #6090 was led by mentors Rod Kilips, Dave Merice, Keith Kohtz, Landon Kohtz, Kathy Cross, Terry Cross, Mark Lyons, Rob Brown, Becky Brown, and Joe Harnish.
Wayland continuously led the teams in its division in the number of notes (rings) due in large part to their target tracking code allowing the robot to accurately shoot at different spots on the field. Wayland was selected to be on the fifth alliance. They took out the fourth, first and second alliances, getting them into the division finals.
The division finals went to a third match determining the winner. Wayland fell short but still walked away with second place in its division and 24th in the state.
The FIRST Robotics Challenge in at Saginaw Valley showcased the best high school teams across Michigan. Hopkins and Wayland are known across the state and even internationally for their high levels of competitiveness, cooperation and friendliness.
FIRST Robotics strides to promote cooperation, the art of competing and cooperating with other teams.
Sponsors for Hopkins included General Motors Grand Rapids, Sebright Products, Hill Machinery, BUDSDATA and Hopkins High School. Wayland sponsors were Dept of Defense STEM, Consumers Foundation, Grand Rapids Machine Repair, Builders First Source, Cherry Valley Plumbing & Electrical, Andringa’s Mechanical LLC, West Side Powder Coating, Wayland Do It Best Hardware, RT Stitchcrafts, Hilltop Food & Fuel/ A-1 Asphalt and Wayland Union High School.
— Wayland coach Joe Harnish wrote this story and provided photos.
Congratulations to both teams! Congratulations also to the men and women who work as coaches to help the students rise to new heights. It is very rewarding to watch young people improve and grow through their hard work and diligence.