Silver Wolves Howl at Worlds

Throughout the year, the high school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team Silver Wolves has been rallying the pack, taking first place at the Longhorn Roundup Scrimmage, Lancaster Area Qualifier, and the United States Governors Cup and dominating the competition. As such, they were also able to advance to the FTC Worlds competition by continuing their hunt and placing 6th in qualification matches at the Pennsylvania Championship during March 14-15.

Going into Worlds, the Silver Wolves had prepared to the best of their ability, finalizing the robot’s design and code and scouting potential partners, ready to take on the competition. According to Silver Wolves senior Brendan Connolly, “We were excited but nervous. But we were prepared as we’ve always had a really supportive team.”

This year, the FTC challenge consists of robots collecting artifacts (balls) and shooting them into a Goal while touching designated Launch Zones. Additionally, the tournament format divides the 358 teams into different preliminary divisions, including the Lovelace division, where Silver Wolves ended with a record of 6-4-0 (W-L-T), and made playoffs. They were eventually eliminated in the Lovelace division with an overall record of 6-6-0.

Notable matches include their first match where they won with a narrow 12-point margin with the help of team Velocity against teams S.T.A.T.I.C. and Ultraviolet with a final score of 357 to 345, and their fourth match, where they utterly dominated SAKURA Tempesta and RoboCorns with the help of Minerva's Mechanics in a 371-167 victory.

Upon reflecting on the tournament, Connolly said, “We were all really happy with our robot’s performance. We weren’t sure we would make it to the playoffs, but we showed up better than we expected to and got selected to be in the playoffs.”

Looking ahead, after more than a decade in FIRST, the Silver Wolves will be disbanding, as six out of seven of their members are graduating. However, they are excited to see where the other UCFSD teams will go, and will be rooting for them along the way.