On Saturday, February 21, the Robotics team competed in the FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics CT State Championship at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The championship united thirty top- ranked teams from New England. The Gearcats went 1-4 and won a third place in the Inspire Award judging for sportsmanship. Unfortunately, the team failed to advance to the next round of competition.
The Gearcats qualified for States by going 3-2 and earning fourth place in the Hartford Armory Qualifier on February 14. They also received the first place Inspire Award.
“It was a really successful season overall,” said David Ayodele ’27.
According to First Tech Challenge, the FIRST Robotics Inspire Award is presented to the team who is an “inspiration to other teams, acting with gracious professionalism both on and off the playing field.” It is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a team and celebrates the strongest qualities of all the judged awards.
The team is led by captains Emily Cho-Sayegh ’26, Clifford Lanier ’26, Shaye Lee ’26, Lindsay Miao ’26, and coached by Mr. Jeff LaCosse, instructor in physics, and Mr. Bill Fenton, director of the EFX lab.
David Ayodele ’27, a member of the team, said, “It was a successful season overall. The team worked really hard, and I think there are a lot of lessons to learn and good things to come from us as we move onwards.”
