FRC Team 111 wins the Central Illinois Regional Competition and advances to the World Championships

Date: March 21st, 2022

On March 17th through the 19th, WildStang Robotics Program(WRSP) Team 111, WildStang, competed at the FIRST® Robotics Competition Central Illinois Regional, held at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. This was the teams first competition of the 2022 RAPID REACT℠ season and in person event since the start of the pandemic.

38 teams from Illinois, Wisconsin and Kentucky were present to compete. Teams competed in 11 Qualification matches each, to determine their ranking for the Event Championship matches. WSRP Team 111, Wildstang, finished the qualification matches with a perfect record of 11-0-0, and was the first ranked team at the Competition. As the first ranked team, WildStang was the captain of the number one seeded alliance and had the first pick during alliance selection. With their first pick, 111 chose team 1756, Argos, from Peoria, Illinois. Team 8122, Robotic Eagles, from Chicago, Illinois, rounded out the alliance as the 3rd pick.

In the event championship rounds, WildStang and their alliance partners swept through the semi, quarter and final rounds, to win the Central Illinois Regional Championship. With the win as the number one seed alliance captain, WildStang secured a seat the the FIRST® Robotics Competition World Championship, to be held in Houston, Texas at the George R. Brown Convention Center, April 20th through the 23rd. Team 111 will be traveling to Houston to compete with and against approximately 450 teams from around the world.

WildStangs record for the event was a perfect 17 and 0. During the qualifying matches, the team picked up 41 out of 44 total ranking points to secure the number one seed. Team 111 was also awarded the Autonomous Award sponsored by Ford for having the best autonomous program at the event.

This year’s game, RAPID REACTSM is played by two alliances of three teams each, with each team controlling a robot and completing specific actions in order to score points. The game revolves around both alliances shooting inflatable balls known as Cargo into a central Hub and climbing within their Hangars at the end of the match. The overall objective of each match is to score more points than the opposing alliance before the match ends.

WildStang Robotics Program offers for credit classes to over 80 students from all six District 214 schools. FRC Team 111 has been competing in the FIRST® Robotics Competition since 1996, and has won 80+ awards in the 27 years since its founding. In 2003, 2009, and 2011, the team won the FIRST® Robotics Competition (“FRC”) World Championship. In 2006, Team 111, WildStang earned the most prestigious award in FIRST®, the Chairman’s Award. This year, the WildStang Robotics Program was founded to facilitate the launch of a 2nd FRC team, Team 112, Plus One. 112 was launched to give more students hands-on experience designing, fabricating and building world class competition ready robots, as well as develop real world leadership and project management skills.

Both WildStang Robotics Program Teams, 111 and 112, will be competing next at the Midwest Regional Competition, April 6th-9th, at Chicago’s Credit One Arena. 50 teams from across the Midwest, as well as France and India, will be vying for the championship title and join Team 111 at the World Championships.

The FIRST® Robotics Competition for Grades 9-12, is an annual competition that helps young people discover the rewards and excitement of education and careers in science, engineering, and technology. The program challenges high-school-aged students, working with professional mentors, to design and build a robot and compete in high-intensity events that reward the effectiveness of each robot, the power of team strategy and collaboration, and the determination of students. Founded in 1992, the program has grown to include over 3200 teams from around the globe.

WildStang Robotics Program teams are able to compete due to the support of School District 214, School District 23 and key sponsors, Motorola Solutions Foundation, WildStang Robotics Support Association, DevLinks Automation & Robotics, Slack, Nicholas & Associates, ATS Life Sciences, Automatic Precision, GCamp, Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Advent Global Solutions, DMC and the Wong Family. For more information about WildStang Robotics Program, please visit: WildStang.org.

For images of FRC Team 111 WildStang at the Central Illinois Regional , visit: https://photos.app.goo.gl/kHpNYGP7JBB5sxbb6