A Blockbuster Finish for Robotics
Earlier this month, St. Mark’s Upper School FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) robotics team pulled out an epic win in the FTC Semi-Area Championship. With 31 teams from across the Metroplex competing, each round of the event pitted two partner teams against each other to see who could score the most points.
Throughout each match, the robots first maneuver a competition field autonomously and then piloted by a student. The robots must navigate the terrain and complete tasks like picking up and stacking hexagonal pucks in a certain order and launching a paper airplane.
As the day started, even though St. Mark’s first partner robot died during the first round, the team lost by just three points. The Lions went on to win the next four matches and swept all three semifinal rounds.
In the final round, the boys won their first match but lost the second, setting up a decisive third and final championship match. When the buzzer sounded, St. Mark's partner robot didn’t move a motor – it was completely dead. Faced with a 2-on-1 competition, team captain Arav Rawat ’24 expertly maneuvered the robot to complete the required tasks. When the final results were tallied, the Marksmen outscored both of their competitor bots combined.
“The amount of effort and dedication these students have put in to reach this level cannot be overestimated,” Stewart Mayer, Makerspace director and robotics team sponsor, said. “No matter what challenges were thrown at them or how stressful it got, the boys reacted swiftly with poise and intelligence.”
Recently, St. Mark’s FTC team won the North Texas Semi-Regional competition with their alliance partners, earned the first-place "Think Award" for the team's engineering portfolio and won the second-place Inspire Award, encompassing robot competition, presentation, portfolio, judging and sportsmanship. The team will compete in the North Texas Regional Championship on Saturday, Feb. 24.
“To increase their scoring potential as the season progresses, the boys will augment or even completely rebuild the robot between matches, so every competition is a risk,” Mayer said, “Sometimes, the robot will perform better, sometimes not, but that's how science and engineering works! ”
Based on the team’s Offensive Power Rating, a statistical evaluation of the robot’s scoring record, "The Marksmen" are currently ranked 39th in the world.
The Upper School Robotics FIRST Tech Challenge Team includes captains Vivek Patel ’24 and Arav Rawat ’24 and teammates Christian Denis ’26, Everett Jin ’26, Tarik Syed ’26, Ronen Verma ’26, Max Yan ’25, Michael Yang ’26 and Ethan Zhang ’25.
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Throughout each match, the robots first maneuver a competition field autonomously and then piloted by a student. The robots must navigate the terrain and complete tasks like picking up and stacking hexagonal pucks in a certain order and launching a paper airplane.
As the day started, even though St. Mark’s first partner robot died during the first round, the team lost by just three points. The Lions went on to win the next four matches and swept all three semifinal rounds.
In the final round, the boys won their first match but lost the second, setting up a decisive third and final championship match. When the buzzer sounded, St. Mark's partner robot didn’t move a motor – it was completely dead. Faced with a 2-on-1 competition, team captain Arav Rawat ’24 expertly maneuvered the robot to complete the required tasks. When the final results were tallied, the Marksmen outscored both of their competitor bots combined.
“The amount of effort and dedication these students have put in to reach this level cannot be overestimated,” Stewart Mayer, Makerspace director and robotics team sponsor, said. “No matter what challenges were thrown at them or how stressful it got, the boys reacted swiftly with poise and intelligence.”
Recently, St. Mark’s FTC team won the North Texas Semi-Regional competition with their alliance partners, earned the first-place "Think Award" for the team's engineering portfolio and won the second-place Inspire Award, encompassing robot competition, presentation, portfolio, judging and sportsmanship. The team will compete in the North Texas Regional Championship on Saturday, Feb. 24.
“To increase their scoring potential as the season progresses, the boys will augment or even completely rebuild the robot between matches, so every competition is a risk,” Mayer said, “Sometimes, the robot will perform better, sometimes not, but that's how science and engineering works! ”
Based on the team’s Offensive Power Rating, a statistical evaluation of the robot’s scoring record, "The Marksmen" are currently ranked 39th in the world.
The Upper School Robotics FIRST Tech Challenge Team includes captains Vivek Patel ’24 and Arav Rawat ’24 and teammates Christian Denis ’26, Everett Jin ’26, Tarik Syed ’26, Ronen Verma ’26, Max Yan ’25, Michael Yang ’26 and Ethan Zhang ’25.
St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
