Saline Middle School robotics team brings home a State Championship

What a season so far for the Saline Middle School FTC Robotics teams, probably the best ever.

Over the weekend of Dec. 16-17, the Saline Middle School CyBugs, Team 10644 in the FIRST Robotics FTC, won the State of Michigan Championship. They are now headed to the World Championship in Houston.

The Sun Times News (STN) connected with the team to ask about this exciting news.

Of the big win, CyBugs team member and Saline Middle School (SMS) student Victor LaRose said “the win felt like something I couldn't imagine, it was like a fairytale.”

His teammates agreed.

“It feels great, we worked really hard this season to make the best robot we can make and knowing that it was worth it is probably one of the best feelings,” said Adi Neelagal.

While Abhi Neelagal said, “This win feels amazing, we have worked very hard these past few months and it all paid off in the end. I feel proud of our team and of myself.”

Jeroen Spitael, Lead Mentor for SMS FTC Robotics, said all three of the Saline Middle School FTC Robotics teams earned advancements to states. He said Team 10645 and 15555 went to the State Championship - NW (north west) and team 10644 went to the State Championship - SE (south east).

In explaining this, Spitael said, “First in Michigan (FiM) has two championships due to the large number of teams in our state, meaning that we need two championships to identify enough teams to advance to the World Championship, which will be held April 17-20, 2024 in Houston, Texas. “

At the NW Championship, he said Team 15555 S.W.A.R.M was selected as the 2nd pick for the #2 Alliance Seed. After winning both their Semi-Finals and Finals in the Woodie Flowers Division, Spitael said “they helped their Alliance win the overall event and become State Champions.”

This puts them sixth in line for advancement to Worlds. Spitael said given that only five slots were awarded to Michigan, they will be going should any of the currently invited teams relinquish their spot.

At the State Championship - NW, team 10644 Cybugs finished the qualifications ranked fourth overall.

“The number 1 Alliance invited them to join their alliance and this alliance ended up winning the Championship through the same semi-final, division-final, and event-final process,” according to Spitael. “Furthermore, they set a new world-record match score of 304 with Team 10255, improving on the previous record 292, which was held by 10644 and 15555.”

Spitael said, “This has been our best season to date, with Saline ending up in the event finals at every qualifier we attended.”

“With Saline now having FLL, FTC, and FRC teams, the pipeline of talented kids is paying off,” said Spitael. “Next will be the World Championship to which both one FLL and FTC team from Saline received invites, with possibly another FTC and, should they have a similar successful season, our FRC team going. I would like to recognize all of our teams for their hard work, and thank the coaches, parents, and sponsors for all of their support that made this season possible!”

STN asked the students/team members what makes their team so successful.

SMS student and CyBug Zach Malott answered, “I think that most of our success comes from the dedication of the students on this team. We all work together and without that teamwork, the Cybugs would get nowhere. We are all an important part of the team, and we all play a critical role in our success.”

Teammate Mayur Reddy said, “I think what makes this team successful is the incredible patience, dedication and guidance that our coaches and mentors have shown throughout our season to help kids learn about different aspects in robotics. Whether we won competitions or not, I would have walked away a winner with all the things I have learned throughout this season.”

Good Luck in Houston!