By Kiana Caranto

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After placing last in the previous year’s competition, MHS’ For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) Robotics Team 2853 made it all the way to the semifinals at this year’s FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Hawaii Regional held at the Stan Sheriff Center from March 27 to 29. The team attributes this year’s success to their approach to design and their commitment to the program.

“I would say that last year was sort of a learning experience,” said FIRST Robotics adviser Tyson Kikugawa, “This year’s team was a little newer overall, so how we ended up doing was a very pleasant surprise.”

The competition at this year’s FRC Hawaii Regional consisted of the best teams in the state as well as teams from outside of the United States, including Australia. Among these teams, MHS entered the competition seeded seventh and was named an alliance captain, allowing them decide which teams they would work with throughout the competition. They worked with their allies in a game called Aerial Assist where they had to score exercise balls into a goal using their robots. The amount of passes between robots along with the number of total goals scored contributed to their overall ranking going into the semifinals.

Although the first few qualification matches did not go as planned, they didn’t let that stop them from performing well in the latter parts of the competition. “Our first few matches were less than ideal. We had some mistakes that shouldn’t have happened, but luckily we had enough matches where we could redeem ourselves and push our way to the top,” said Kikugawa.

With the memories of last year in the back of their minds, the team took a simplistic approach to this year’s robot design. “Last year was a little different because we chose a concept that really wasn’t tested. We were trying to achieve the impossible,” said Systems Integration Lead Sophomore Joseph Fujinami. Kikugawa added, “This year we made a commitment to try something simpler and more effective.”

The team’s work ethic and commitment also contributed to their success. “I think this year’s team, we had a lot of newer students but at the same time we had a larger group of kids that would come more often,” said Kikugawa. Fujinami added, “I’d say that we were really on track. There’s some times that we fell behind because of conflicts and disagreements. We worked cohesively overall.”

Despite the bumps in the road, the team made it to the semifinals and ended their season with a bang. “I had no idea we’d get even past qualifications because we didn’t have a lot of time to practice and just because we were last place last year,” said Project Manager Senior Adrianna Saymo. Fujinami stated, “I just wanted to jump out of my seat at the Stan Sheriff Center.”

Although they won’t be joining McKinley, Waialua and Kamehameha Schools at the world championships, Team 2853 will recoup and begin preparing for next season in hopes of eclipsing their performance this year.