Minnesota Rookies Make it a "3-Peat" at Wisconsin Regional

March 28, 2008

By MN Regional Staff

For the third year in a row, a Minnesota FIRST rookie team drove out of the Wisconsin Regional as winner of the regional competition. Congratulations to Team 2549-The Millerbots of Washburn High School, Minneapolis, for forming the 2008 winning alliance with Team 2062-C.O.R.E., Waukesha, Wisc., and Team 171-Extreme Engineering of Platteville, Wisc. It was a battle to the finish line of FIRST Overdrive, however, as the third-seeded alliance had to overcome stiff competition from another Minnesota FIRST team, Team 2169-KingTech of Prior Lake High School, Savage, Minn. KingTec, which won the Wisconsin Regional in 2007 as a rookie team, formed the fourth-seeded alliance with Team 93-New Apple Corps, Appleton, Wisc., and Team 1652-The Robot Mafia, Pleasant Prairie, Wisc. To see Washburn and Prior Lake in action, please click here.

Minnesota teams also earned other top honors at the competition. Team 2574-RoboHuskies, St. Anthony High School, St. Anthony Village, earned the "Highest Rookie Seed" award for being the rookie team that finished highest (seeded ninth) in the round-robin matches. Team 2220-Blue Twilight, Eagan High School, Eagan, Minn., second-year veterans, won the 2008 Wisconsin Regional Website award. For complete results, please visit the Wisconsin Regional website.

In all, 14 Minnesota teams competed in the 2008 WI Regional. Of that, six Minnesota teams, including Team 1816-The Green Machine, Edina; Team 2545-High Jumps, Columbia Heights; Team 2530-Inconceivable, Rochester, Minn., went on to compete in the elimination rounds.

Many of the Wisconsin Regional contenders are already packing their bags for the Minnesota Regional. Teams readying their strategies and game plans include: Team 2169-KingTec; Team 1816-The Green Machine; Team 2220-Blue Twilight, as well as Team 2194-Fondy Fire, Fond du Lac, Wisc.,and Team 93-New Apple Corps, Wisconsin Regional finalists and recipient of the “Regional Engineering Inspiration” award.