From the classroom to the battle arena, the robotics team has put blood, sweat and tears into the versatile bot that they created. The CARBO KNIGHT was battle ready.

At the regional competition on Feb. 21, at the California University of Pennsylvania, the team had high expectations for the bot in hopes of advancing to the state competition. In the first round, the team had a problem with the bot.

“We had an electrical malfunction, our main receiver blew and we didn’t have a spare, that’s the main reason why we were unable to continue competing,” junior Michael Keith stated when asked about what had happened to the bot at regions that caused it to not be able to continue competing.

Although the team faulted out of the regional competition, they were allowed to advance to the state competition. This competition was once again at Cal U. After making needed repairs and preparing for the worst, the team felt confident in their bot.

“Going into Cal U, we knew there would be many schools with lots of sponsors. Our team was sponsored but we were dropped by Vekka, so we knew exactly what the robot could do because we built it ourselves. Many schools like Pine Richland, just designed their bot and shipped it out to be made,” Keith explained when asked if he thought their bot could compete against others.

This confirmed the team’s confidence in their bot because unlike other teams, they had built their bot, piece by piece instead of having some company make it for them. The team entered round one and prevailed. Led by their driver, sophomore Willem Michener, the team couldn’t have asked for better. In the second round, the team was pinned and lost due to a referee separation which caused the team to be placed into the loser’s bracket.

Moving on into their third round, the team faced Fort Cherry; this was their final match, as they were defeated. A striking blow to the roof dented the bot and was then unable to move. The team’s expectations were cut short, but they overall enjoyed the experience.

“Manufacturing a real battle bot and talking to the manufacturing companies was by far the best part about being on the robotics team,” sophomore David Eisenbrown stated when asked about his favorite part of the robotics process.

The Robotics sponsor, Beth Majors, was unable to be at the competition due to another club trip, but she was cheering for them in spirit.

“They worked really hard on this bot. They all contributed with their different skill sets and I think everyone enjoyed creating the bot. I am very proud of them all and I couldn’t ask for any more than what they have given,” Majors said.

The team’s success this year will hopefully fuel new ideas into next year. Mashing metal is something these students love doing, and being able to build a motor power robot is something not many can say.