BEMIDJI — The Pequot Lakes Patriotics robotics team is one of five teams that will participate in the Minnesota State High School League State Robotics Championship.
The Northern Minnesota Robotics Conference announced the five member teams Sunday, April 2, when it released the final statewide rankings in robotics for all 190 high school teams in Minnesota.
Teams are divided into eight sections in the state that are based solely on geography. The top two teams from each section account for 16 of 36 spots available in the tournament.
The rest of the field is filled out by the remaining top 20 teams statewide, regardless of the section they represent.
Both Section 8 representatives' seats will be filled by NMRC teams — Pequot Lakes and Warroad.
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The Patriotics will make their fourth consecutive and fifth overall state tournament appearance. F.R.E.D. from Warroad will make their ninth appearance as they make a bid to become a three-time state champion.
Three NMRC teams qualified via the overall statewide rankings, including the defending state champions, the Gator Robotics from Greenbush-Middle River. They will make their eighth appearance and look to make history as the first-ever four-time state champion in robotics.
Two teams will make their robotics state tournament debut. Full Metal Jackets from Perham and The Accelerators from Cass Lake-Bena.
During the state tournament, the Minnesota State All-Academic Team, Coaches of the Year, Students of the Year, and the Robotics Hall of Fame inductees will be announced.
This competition will mark the 11th robotics state tournament. It will return to the University of Minnesota campus at Williams Arena on Saturday, May 6. The event is free and open to the public.
More information, including tournament archives, about robotics can be found on the MSHSL website at https://www.mshsl.org/sports-and-activities/robotics
For information about the tournament or the final statewide rankings, visit FUM (FIRST in the Upper Midwest) at https://firstuppermidwest.org/off-season-events/mshsl-championship/
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