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Victory at 2007 Midwest Regional

Team 904 - Winners of the 2007 Midwest Regional - Click to Enlarge Image

Creston 904 displayed teamwork and sportsmanship during the 2007 Midwest Regional in which they were among the four teams who formed the victorious alliance.

Each member of 904 participated in the three-day event whether on the field, in the pits, or in the stands. Throughout the regional our students displayed great zeal while cheering for ours and other teams. The judges took notice, awarding Creston 904 the DaimlerChrysler Team Spirit Award

We ranked low throughout the qualification rounds—despite our robot consistently performing well—ultimately ending in last place. For the finals, the seventh-place seated Wildstang, team 111, chose 904 to be a member of an elite alliance in the finals. Alongside Ravenotics, team 1710, and later The Mechanicats, team 1850, this alliance was able to advance beyond the quarterfinals and semi-finals to contend with an adequately skilled opposing alliance. After two tied matches there came a win for each alliance, then our alliance pulled through victorious in the end.

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Finals Contender at 2007 West Michigan Regional

Creston 904 entered the West Michigan Regional with confidence, having just won the Midwest Regional event 2 weeks before. Knowing that the West Michigan Regional attracts tough competitors was seen as a challenge to Creston 904, a challenge to prove it was not just luck in Chicago but that their robot had a good design, great drivers, and was backed by tremendous team spirit. Throughout the preliminary rounds, this spirit shown through. As is the case with FIRST matches, there are high point matches and low point matches. Throughout them all Creston904 kept on loading the rings onto the rack, scoring well. The highlight of the prelims was when Creston 904 went head-to-head with its Midwest Regional alliance partner, Wildstang, and scored well, winning the match. Partnered with B.O.B, team 85, and the Killer Bees, team 33, the Creston 904 alliance placed well in the quarterfinals, but lost during the last match of the semi-finals. This was a great achievement for the alliance, even if it wasn't first place.

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Tough Competitor at 2007 National Championship

On Wednesday, April 11th, the Grand Rapids Creston High School F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Team #904 set out for Atlanta, Georgia for the 2007 robotics national championship. This three-day event that involves over 20 countries from around the world is composed of over 300 teams. This makes nationals a 'best of the best' competition.

With the Midwest Regional win under their belts, smiles on their faces, and their Desire, Dedication, and Determination (D3), the team's spirits were high. At the competition, all of the competing teams are distributed into four divisions. Team #904 placed 37th out of 87 teams in their division, and nearly made it to the finals. Through match after match, D3 demonstrated gracious professionalism and good scoring. As the majority of teams who competed at nationals were regional winners, this was an impressive feat for an impressive team.

After the awards ceremonies on Saturday team 904 returned to Grand Rapids arriving on Sunday April 15th. With discussions of summer parades and robot demonstrations at public venues filling the air, the team agreed the competition season was a success but there was still more work to do to give back to the community and "share F.I.R.S.T."

F.I.R.S.T robotics is sponsored by many companies (including Coca Cola, NASA, GM, Motorola, Dematic, Utube and hundreds more) and supported by politicians (including Michigan Governor Jennifer Granhlom, U.S. Congressman Vernon Ehlers, and The President Of The United States George W. Bush). Check out our proud sponsors, whom we can never thank enough for making this experience possible.

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