The OHS Robotics team has made it to nationals for the first time ever. They won their first tournament in Duluth securing a spot for them in nationals down in Houston. 

One of the leaders on Robotics is OHS senior Lileigh Nguyen.

Nguyen said, “We competed in Duluth at a week one tournament called Northern Lights.”

This strong start to the season set them up for success for the rest of the year. Nguyen said, “We ended up winning the tournament which secured us a trip to nationals in Houston.”  

Nationals will be at the end of April where the team will compete for the top place in the nation for high school robotics.

Nguyen said, “We’ll be doing fundraisers through Kwik Trip and other businesses and running a Give Butter to fundraise for our travel expenses”.

Nguyen explained the elements of the bots. Nguyen said, “Our bots run on a swerve train that allows for a lot of maneuverability through the field. We are currently in the process of altering our claw mechanism so that we can focus on scoring in the lower ports. We plan to use a belt and wheel system instead of a pneumatic claw to grab the game pieces and we are expecting to see a lot of success with this strategy.”

Nguyen stated “We’ve got a pretty high OPR (Offensive Power Rating) and we have good defensive bots.” Future years are also expected to succeed. Nguyen said, “We have a lot of sub teams and a lot of freshmen and underclassmen who are getting to experience new things.” 

With this strong team comes hours of hard work and a vigorous practice schedule. 

Nguyen said, “We practice about 15 hours a week. Two and a half hours everyday after school besides Wednesdays, and then we usually run pretty long Saturday practices.” Even though they’re already putting in the time, the team has had to lengthen practices to up their game.

Nguyen said, “We extended our hours as regionals neared.” This time and dedication attributes to the team’s success this season. 

Advising the Robotics Team is Mr. Shaun Robbins, a tech education teacher at the middle school. The Robotics team has been working on the robot for the past few months. Mr. Robbins said, “It was some hard work, some luck at the Duluth Regional and a lot of networking with other teams. Our relationships we built while we were there helped us get onto the teams we did. This season continues to impress the community and surpass people’s expectations. 

Nguyen said, “This was the first time making it to nationals, first time winning a regional and first time placing at our first tournament.”

Nguyen and her teammates enjoy robotics because it helps them grow in a variety of areas. Nguyen said, “Robotics is a good blend of STEM and engineering as well as business and community service.” 

The team is now raising funds for the trip to nationals. To donate: https://givebutter.com/IndividualTeam4624Fundraising202220233