By Mary Reynolds

Special to the Leader

Team 2137 TORC, the Oxford High School robotics team, had its best finish ever at the FIRST World Robotics Championship in St. Louis, Missouri last week.

TORC joined 400 teams from around the world and competed against 66 of the best on the Archimedes Field. Since the world championship is so large, it is divided into six sub qualifying playing fields all named for famous scientists.

The first day of competition saw Team TORC finishing with a 2 win, 2 loss record. The next day brought new hope but mechanical problems and wireless robot communication issues surfaced and TORC finished the day and qualification matches with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses. At the end of qualifications, TORC was ranked 54 out of 66 teams.

Although TORC did not have a good showing during qualifications, its reputation and past performances stood out and TORC was chosen as a partner to the #1 Alliance on the Archimedes Field. TORC joined the 4 robot alliance of Team 1058 from Londonderry, NH, Team 67 from Milford, MI, and Team 1640 from Downington, PA. Similar to the Elite Eight in basketball, TORC now had to compete against the best of the Archimedes teams.

TORC and partners breezed through the quarterfinals but had to play a rubber match to win in the semifinals.

The finals pitted TORC and its alliance against four powerhouse teams from the East Coast and Toronto. After the TORC alliance was announced as the winner, a field fault was called and the match had to be replayed.

A nail-biter ensued but a champion was crowned and TORC was the recipient of not only a championship banner but also a chance to compete on the elite Einstein Field against the best of the 400 teams that were in St. Louis.

TORC was thrilled to make its first visit to the Einstein Field. Although not a winner, reaching this pinnacle in FIRST Robotics was a monumental goal for the TORC Team.

A highlight of the Einstein Field competition was a win by the TORC alliance against the eventual world champions.

TORC would also like to congratulate our neighbor to the south, Team 302, the Lake Orion Dragons, who also competed on the Einstein Field. Team 302 ended up a finalist on the Einstein Field, losing in close matches to the eventual world champions.

If you’d like more information on Team TORC, visit website www.torc2137.com.