FIRST in Michigan Championship Recap!

Stryke Force had the pleasure of competing at the FIRST in Michigan State Championship, hosted by Saginaw Valley State University this past weekend. A big thank you again to the many volunteers making this event possible!

The State Championship has a slightly different format than the district events. Instead of competing on one field, there are four fields, also called "divisions," on which teams compete. Each team is assigned to a specific field and plays its qualification and elimination matches on that field. Once the winning alliance comes out on top of their field, they move on to the finals. Each winning alliance from the four different fields plays elimination matches, in the same format, to crown the state champion alliance at the end.

Stryke Force competed in the Hemlock Semiconductor division, and after fighting it out in qualification matches, our team was ranked 4th out of 40, with a record of 8-4-0. During the alliance selection process, we were honored to be the first pick of Alliance 1, captained by Team 67, The HOT Team. We completed our alliance with Team 5843 Flurb. Alliance 1 fought through the top of the elimination bracket into the finals. We fought long and hard against Alliance 3, taking it to three matches, but ended up coming out on top.

Not only were we crowned with being the District Championship Winners of the Hemlock Semiconductor field, but Stryke Force was also awarded the Imagery Award in honor of Jack Kamen. This award was presented to our team because we displayed attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance.

But our competition didn't stop there, we still had to go up against the winning alliances from the APTIV, Consumers Energy, and DTE Energy Foundation divisions. These matches were played in the same elimination format, and the Hemlock Semiconductor Alliance soared through the top of the double elimination bracket once again, dropping no matches before the finals. In the finals, our alliance was up against the APTIV Alliance. These matches were nailbiters, with the Hemlock Semiconductor Alliance winning the first match, and the APTIV Alliance winning the second. But in the end, the Hemlock Semiconductor Alliance came out on top as the FIRST in Michigan Championship Winners!

This is a momentous accomplishment for our team because it's the first time in team history, Stryke Force has ever won states, and we are so incredibly proud and grateful for everyone who has made this achievement possible!

Catch Stryke Force next at the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas April 16-19. Be sure to watch us live on Twitch to see how we do!