The robotics team has advanced to the Texas BEST and UIL state competition which will be held Dec. 6-7, at the Comerica Center in Frisco.

On Friday the competition will be from approximately 4-7 p.m. and on Saturday it will last all day, from 9 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There are multiple tasks the team will complete in the state competition. Click here for a detailed schedule.

“We have to outscore other teams by completing the field the quickest,” junior Bailey Butler said. “There’s other comments that contribute to our score like the booth, where we compile our information in an interactive way; the presentation, where we present all of of information to a set of judges; and the notebook, where all of our information is compiled and judged.”

The team has been working diligently for the past few weeks to prepare for the state competition.

“We work long weeks. There are a lot of smart kids in our program, but more than that– they’re dedicated,” junior Anna Gresset said.

There are high hopes for the robotics team’s performance at state. In past years the robotics team has placed sixth and seventh.

“I think, and hope, that at state we will be in the top five,” Bailey said. “We think that we’ve improved greatly since then, so we hope to rank high.”

There were a lot of emotions when the team found out they placed second, qualifying for the next level.

“When we found out we made state, everyone was ecstatic,” Bailey said. “Our hard work and late nights had paid off.”

All students, faculty, and community members are encouraged to attend the competition to support the robotics team Friday evening and Saturday. Bring noise makers, pompoms, or posters so the robotics team will earn more spirit points.