Nevis robotics team finishes 13th at state – Park Rapids Enterprise
The Nevis Tech-No-Tigers finished 13th in the 2024 Minnesota State High School League Robotics State Tournament held at Williams Arena Saturday, May 4.
“Out of the 197 robotics teams in the state, only 36 teams earned an invitation to this intense, one-day tournament,” mentor Olaf Netteberg said. “We completed the season as the 13th most successful team in Minnesota.”
Netteberg said, since the tournament is the last event of the competition season, many robots showed significant wear and tear.
“These 150-pound machines that travel faster than a human can run and collide with each other and the field elements do break down,” he said. “At the state tournament, there is less time between qualification matches, so the opportunity to make repairs along the way is far less. We were no exception. Just before the lunch break, our chassis twisted in multiple directions, and we scrambled to dismantle and replace one-fourth of the core of our robot. Our pit crew was as stressed as we have been the whole season and got our robot onto the field for our next match with literally seconds to spare. We were able to complete the day, and in our last matches we tied our best performances of the year.”
Lorie Skarpness has lived in the Park Rapids area since 1997 and has been writing for the Park Rapids Enterprise since 2017. She enjoys writing features about the people and wildlife who call the north woods home.
