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As representatives of their Catholic school community, the members of the Damien Memorial School robotics team pride themselves on demonstrating the best of their shared religious values.
And so one day after seemingly everything that could go wrong did go wrong, the team members found themselves modeling the power of prayer.
“We were thinking, ‘What’s going on? Please help us!’” said Michael Cassem, the team’s faculty advisor.
Whether by divine intervention or simply a reversal of dumb luck, the team emerged from the 10th annual FIRST Robotics Regional Competition with top honors and a guaranteed spot in the world championships in Houston later this month.
Some 37 teams competed in the two-day event. Each was given six weeks to create a robot weighing less than 120 pounds, equipped with a drivetrain to allow it to move, and a mechanism to collect plastic balls and launch them at a target. At the competition, teams formed alliances of three in pursuit of a top ranking.
Having placed well the previous year, the Damien team — led by seniors Brian Corpus, Shane Hendricks and Adrian Lazaro — entered the competition with every expectation of performing at a high level.
But a less-than-favorable draw of partners (one had an inoperative robot) and some unforeseen complications (at one point their robot began spinning in circles, evoking comparisons to “The Exorcist”) found the team near the bottom of the rankings, its fortunes for the last day depending on the whim of whichever top-10 team might elect to ally with them.
A few fervent prayers later, a high-performing team from Taipei, Taiwan, selected Damien to be part of an alliance that would also include a team from Sydney.
“The Taiwan team said they had watched us and felt that we were a sleeper,” Cassem said. “We knew ourselves that we were better than our position and we were hopeful that things would turn around.”
After losing all three of its contests on Friday, the Damien team swept the competition on Saturday to capture the regional championship.
As it turned out, the three-way alliance also benefited other Oahu schools. Because both the Taipei and Sydney teams had already qualified for the world championships in previous competitions, the remaining two spots in the finals were awarded to regional finalists Saint Louis School and Pearl City High School.
The world championships will be held on April 19 to 22. Cassem said he is already hard at work trying to raise funds to send as many of his team members as possible.
For the trip to Houston, the Damien team has a GoFundMe page to help raise the $6,500 it needs: gofundme.com/damien-frc-2896-mechamonarchs.
COMPLETE RESULTS
Regional Chairman’s Award
Poway High School (San Diego)
Engineering Inspiration Award
Taipei American School (Taipei, Taiwan)
Woodie Flowers Finalist Award
Reid Kawamura, Kapolei High School
Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award
Alan Ing, McKinley High School & Regional Planning Committee member
Regional champions
Greater Sydney Area High Schools (Sydney)
Taipei American School (Taipei, Taiwan)
Damien Memorial School
Regional finalists
Pearl City High School
The Buckley School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Saint Louis School
Rookie All-Star
Mid-Pacific Institute
FIRST Dean’s List Finalist Award
Rovi Porter, Kalani High School
Janel Teneza, Maui High School
Creativity Award
Kalani High School
Entrepreneurship Award
Greater Sydney Area High Schools (Sydney)
Excellence in Engineering Award
Kauai & Kapaa High School
Gracious Professionalism Award
Punahou School
Highest Rookie Seed
Shixi High School (Shanghai)
Imagery Award
Mid-Pacfic Institute
Industrial Design Award
The Buckley School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Innovation in Control Award
Kealakehe High School
Judges’ Award
Sacred Hearts Academy
Quality Award
Kamehameha School
Rookie Inspiration Award
Shixi High School (Shanghai)
Safety Award
Poway High School (San Diego)
Team Spirit Award
Maui High School
Wildcards
Pearl City High School
Saint Louis School
The Buckley School (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
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