HICKORY – Defense wins championships!
A new season of FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) began last weekend, and it began well for Christ School with a first-place alliance victory at the Catawba County District Event.
Team 9298 Greenies took their new swerve drive robot to the event, themed “Reefscape,” which included 29 other teams inside the Hickory Metro Convention Center.
Boston Ar ‘28, Jacob Beatty ‘25, James Honcu ‘27, Dillon Kirk ‘27, Matthew Lavigne ‘28, Patrick Jaber ‘28, Elliott Stay ‘27, Jad Traboulsi ‘25, and Yixuan Wu ‘25 specifically calibrated their robot for defensive purposes, and this decision paid off. Christ School was selected as the third team on an alliance that ultimately won the competition.
Dillon drove the robot in matches and the team was coached by Dr. Matt Houston, Hamid Najafi, and Glenn Houston (Dr. Houston’s father). The team has one more Spring Break competition scheduled for March 21-23 in Charlotte.
Robotics have been an essential part of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum here for some time, and this is the third year of a dedicated and school-sponsored robotics competition team.