FIRST Robotics Competition Team 4272 Maverick Robotics from McCutcheon High School competed in the 2023 game, Charged Up, this season. This year’s game required teams to race across the field collecting cubes and traffic cones before placing the cones on metal pipes and cubes on shelves, each with 3 varied heights. Each match consists of two alliances of 3 teams each. Alliances compete to score points by collecting these pieces before climbing on a tilting platform with teammates at the end of the match. The first 15 seconds are autonomous and scored pieces generate additional points. The following 2 minutes and 15 seconds are teleoperated by a student drive team. This season, the team competed in two district events, the district championship, and the FIRST Championship.

The FIN (FIRST Indiana) District Princeton Event presented by Toyota was held in Princeton, Indiana. The team finished the qualification matches with a 7-5 record and was the number one pick of the number two-seeded alliance. Our alliance went 5-1 before winning the double-elimination bracket and the event! The team also won the Quality Award which highlights a team that celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication. Team 4272 student Aaron S. was awarded the District Championship Dean’s List Semi-Finalist which celebrates exemplary work within a team and the community. Next up, the FIN District Tippecanoe Event was held at Lafayette Jefferson High School in Lafayette, IN. The team again went 7-5 through qualification matches and was picked up as the number one pick of the number two-seeded alliance. After some mechanical issues within the alliance, Team 4272 was knocked out of the competition in the semifinals, finishing in third place. We also earned the Quality Award for the second time this season.

These two events enabled Team 4272 to accumulate enough points to qualify for the FIRST Indiana State Championship in Anderson, Indiana. Team 4272 ended qualification matches in a tie for first, but finished in second place due to a tiebreaker. The team captained the second-seeded alliance to an elimination record of 2-2, good enough for 4th place. We completed the trifecta by once again winning the Quality Award.

Success at the State Championship granted the team admission to the FIRST Championship held in Houston, Texas. This was an international event that spanned four days and marked only the second time in the team’s twelve-year history that we qualified. This event had eight separate divisions with 78 assigned teams per division. After ten qualification matches in the Daly Division, Team 4272 held a record of 6-4 and was chosen by the number three-seed alliance for the elimination rounds. The team’s season came to an end after 3 matches at the hands of the fifth-seed alliance. This alliance went on to win our division. The eight division-winning alliances then competed for the overall competition title where the Daly Division winning alliance came in second. Team 4272 would like to thank all of our sponsors, mentors, and students for one of the best seasons in program history. The support of our sponsors and donors enables us to prepare students for their future careers while performing at the highest levels.