Three Teams, One Mission: Robotics Students Show Resilience at FIRST Tech Qualifiers
The drivers for the Rolling Drones and Bötley Crüe work together in a playoff match. Photo: Fahim Rashid
By JAYDEN COURTOIS
The stands erupted as four silver-clad robotic masses whirled into action, colliding and spinning, as green and purple balls vanished in the chaos only to be fired hard into the corner goals.
This was the scene as Midwood’s three robotics teams, the Rolling Drones, Pink Droyd, and Bötley Crüe, competed in their first qualifier of the 2025-2026 season on December 7 at John Dewey High School, with the Rolling Drones advancing to the next level.
The qualifier consisted of 20 teams randomly assigned by FIRST Tech Challenge administrators into partnerships known as “alliances.” Each alliance had five qualifying matches to work together and score artifacts – getting balls into a goal – while avoiding penalties. The top four teams from the qualifying matches could then pick which team they wanted to ally with and play four elimination matches to gain a higher ranking.
Each match started with a 30 second autonomous period where the robots moved independently to score the ball, followed by two minutes where human drivers could move their robots around, pick up the balls, and shoot them into the goal.
Despite placing 8th during earlier challenges, the Rolling Drones were picked to compete in the elimination matches and secured the Control Award, which is given to teams that are innovative, allowing their robots to perform precise shooting and field navigation without human input.
The team had “consistent shots down the field, one of the highest scores in the tournament, and the number one autonomous points average,” said Amirjon Sadikov ‘26, the head programmer and driver for the Drones.
While the team basked in their hard-earned victory, their co-captain, Darren Wong ‘26, remained focused, setting his sights on their weak points.
“I feel like our alliance partners have taught us a really valuable lesson about how we, ourselves, need to improve as a team,” said Wong. “Not all alliance partnerships work out, so we can’t completely rely on them.”
Pink Droyd and Bötley Crüe placed seventh and thirteenth, respectively, falling short of qualification, but their accomplishments still stood out.
The Connect Award was granted to Pink Droyd for excelling in community outreach and engagement.
“We went to hospitals and did breast cancer donation [fundraisers],” said Joanna Lin ‘26, the captain of Pink Droyd. The team also led food drives and did food packing for the elderly.
Driver Zaid Uddin expressed confidence about the team’s seventh place ranking. “For a TeleOp, we focused on mid-race shooting because that's what we were best at. I feel like we were one of the best in the competition when it came to midway shooting,” he said.
The Think Award was granted to Bötley Crüe, honoring design in engineering and documentation.
“As long as we consistently change our build and explain why we changed, that's the most important part,” said Kenson Fenlon, the programmer and driver for Bötley. “We were able to explain why we changed it, why we decided to go over something else each and every time.”
Beyond the pressure of competition, the three teams are connected by a bond built through perseverance, trust, and countless moments together.
“You can see all the cheers from the stands every time a ball goes in, and that's definitely what keeps us going,” Sadikov said.
Ms. Lisa Ali, the head coach for the three teams, emphasized growing as a team instead of hunting for trophies.
“It felt great [to see the teams compete] because I know they worked really hard to be where they are,” Ms. Ali said. “I literally saw the blood, sweat, and tears that they put into it.”
For the teams who didn’t qualify this time, another opportunity awaits in January, and without a shadow of a doubt their determination, teamwork, and love for the game will give them a chance to make it all the way to the World Championship.