Lenox Memorial Middle and High School’s robotics team, Enginuity, faced off against 18 other teams from around the state in the First Tech Challenge International Robotics Competition on Saturday, Jan. 21, in Andover.
Their robot got off to a rocky start and at the end of the qualifying rounds, Enginuity was ranked in eighth place, and the team was resigned to merely watching the finals. For the finals, the top four teams each got to choose another team to form an alliance, and in a surprise move, the fourth ranked team, Liquid Oxygen, from Needham, picked Enginuity to join them.
The semi-finals were best two out of three, and in two decisive matches, Liquid Oxygen and Enginuity soundly defeated their opposing alliance from Foxboro and Worcester. Two quick matches later, against teams from Acton and Andover, and teams Liquid Oxygen and Enginuity were the champions of the entire competition.
In addition to winning the competition, Team Enginuity was awarded the Design Award for best incorporating industrial design elements into their robot that are both functional and aesthetic.
On Saturday, Feb. 18, Team Enginuity will be heading to Canton to battle their way through another qualifying tournament on the road to the state championship.