C.I.S. Robotics had a very exciting, crazy and eventful weekend up in Duluth. They had a record of 9-4, finished as Semi-Finalist, were the third overall pick, received the Regional Chairman’s Winner, UL Safety Award, and Star of the Day went to Mitchell Sakry.

 

FRC 4607, C.I.S. headed into the Lake Superior Regional in Duluth with a huge task ahead of them. In a world of robots that stood over 60 inches tall, Pitchfork, Becker’s robot, stood only 14 inches. But don’t let this small bot fool you. Packed tightly in that short frame was a robot that can reach up as tall as 84 inches. Like the town of Becker, this robot illustrates that great things come in small packages.

 

Apart from the robot, the team is a juggernaut in the world of STEM. The last three seasons the team has hosted the largest FIRST Robotics Training event outside of the World Championships - no small feat when you consider that World’s consists of 600 teams from around the globe! 

 

However, 4607 was up against teams 93 (Appleton, WI), 1816 (Edina, MN), 2052 (New Brighton), 2526 (Maple Grove), and a host of others competing for the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

 

Becker has won the award in 2016 and ‘17, so repeating for a third time was statistically near impossible. Only one other team has done so - FRC 2169 out of Prior Lake back in the early days of FIRST in Minnesota. 

 

For 4607 to do this would mean that they would be the first team since 2011 that this streak would continue - and in 2018 Minnesota has twice as many teams since that time.

 

But Becker didn’t just have a machine, the Becker team was a machine. Losing 34 members from last year’s team to graduation and attrition, the team looked to be in a rebuilding year. 

 

However, C.I.S. took a new approach this season with shortened work hours, stronger design & strategy sessions, and an outreach regimen that was unrivalled. 

 

They complemented this with strong backing from our own local community as they continue to partner with the likes of LPI, SherCo, Arconic Foundation, Darter Plastics, Sherburne State Bank and a host of others. 

 

When they reached the shores of Lake Superior, the team was more than ready to compete.

 

Through an incredible show of strategy under the guidance from Junior Drive Coach Ben Fischbach, the Drive Team ran like a top. Sophomore Driver Blake Soenneker and Junior Operator Dylan Cheney drove the robot like it was an extension of their bodies. 

 

Human Player Junior Tate Spinner ran the vault almost flawlessly. The first day of competition saw them win their first four matches. They ran into the perennial powerhouse of 2052 (Irondale) and took their first loss. They finished the day with two more wins as they carried alliances on their back.

 

Saturday they lost their first match as a mechanical issue for breaching the field perimeter disqualified them from the match. It was their first real stumble. 

 

However, their programming team found the fault and fixed it within minutes. They rebounded with a win in their last qualification match. They finished #10 in ranking points, but had the most consistent auto mode of all the teams. 

 

Because of their consistency and incredible strategies, they were picked third overall. 

 

They battled through the quarterfinals, beating a strong alliance that consisted of Maple Grove, Esko, and Appleton (WI). 

 

In the semi’s they met their demise but the points they accrued qualified them for state for the fifth time in six seasons - by far and away a record for any team in Becker school history.

And then the Pit Crew took over. 

 

The safety regimen that Junior Safety Captain Mitchell Sakry put into place won them the elusive Underwriters Laboratories Industrial Safety Award. 

 

4607 has finished as runners-up for this award three times in the last five seasons, so this was icing on the cake for a state berth.

 

It was now up to the Chairman’s Team to really put this team in overdrive. 

 

The Chairman’s Team - comprised of Senior Lead Blake Paulson, Senior Megan Swanson, Junior Gavin Murphy, and Junior Jordan Gruenes - needed a big win to get them to Worlds. They were up against teams that had many years of experience beyond Becker. 

 

However, the work that the team had done up to this point under Coach Maggie Maine paid off. Becker won their third Chairman’s Award in as many years.

 

“When Mark (Kolbinger) and I started this venture back in 2012, we had a five year plan.  After our first season we had to rewrite it because the team had accomplished most of those goals - things like finish in the top 50% of all teams in Minnesota, make it to the State Championships, win a regional, and so on. So we rewrote the five year plan as Mark stepped down. When Maggie arrived on the scene, her first question was something along the lines of ‘what do you want me to do?’ - my response? ‘Win a Chairman’s Award’. And then she guided us to one, and then two, and now she has us on a streak that we haven’t seen in FRC since 2011!” Exclaimed Coach Jurek.

 

All of this is impressive in its own right - until you dig a little deeper and start to see how much of an impact that this team has on STEM and FIRST. 

 

In 2015 the team partnered with SCSU to host a training day for FIRST teams. It has now grown to impact over 1000 students and 44 teams from across the midwest. 

 

On top of that, Becker has mentored 20 FRC teams, and has started nine of them. 

 

This year alone, two of their rookie teams qualified for World Championships by winning the Rookie All-Star award - one from St Michael-Albertville and one from Fort Myers, FL. The third rookie team that they are mentoring, St Francis, will be competing at Medtronic Foundation Regional during spring break.

 

FRC 4607 is also responsible for introducing League Play for FIRST Tech Challenge (7-12th grade robotics) to Minnesota. 

 

They have started a FIRST LEGO League Junior team, four FIRST LEGO League teams, and five FTC teams in Becker. They also have formed COR Robotics summer robotics camps through their mentor Ryan Swanson that services summer camps throughout Minnesota.

 

Couple all of this with partnership that FRC 4607 has formed with Minnesota’s own soccer club, MN United, the team does not seem to have found a plateau. 

 

The team is currently ranked #1 in the Minnesota with only FRC 2169 able to unseat them this weekend when Prior Lake competes at Central Illinois Regional.

 

However, C.I.S. continues to make improvements to their team to become the ultimate force on the game field, in the Pits and in the stands. They plan on doing this by continuing their hard work and stepping up their game.

 

FRC 4607 competes again in Minneapolis at the Medtronic Foundation Regional at the Williams Arena March 29-31. 

 

They then will travel to Detroit to compete in the World Championships April 25-28. They will finish their season with the MSHSL State Tournament Sat., May 19.

 

The trip to Worlds is going to be expensive. So the team has set up a couple of fundraisers to help defer the costs. 

 

According to Coach Jurek:

 

“This time around we do need help. Three years in a row has really tapped our account. I think that the team needs to see that the community is behind them. I would like for the community to have a chance to show their support for this team - for our kids to showcase who they really are to Becker. They are such a hardworking and gregarious bunch, it is hard not to like them.”

 

The C.I.S. is hosting two dinner fundraisers which includes the Becker Robotics Chili Challenge. The Team will be hosting a Chili Challenge on April 5 in the High School Commons from 4:30-8PM. These will be free will donations and all proceeds to help Becker Robotics World Championship Push!