Congratulations to the Woodinville High School Robotics Team, Velocity Raptors, for qualifying for the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship for the third consecutive year! The team will soon travel to Houston, Texas, for the World Championship that takes place April 29 - May 2, 2026.
The following students contributed to the team’s success this season:
- Romi Bar-Caspi
- Skylar Bogner
- Evenne Burgess
- Alex Carbajal
- Riker Charlson
- Zach Dela Merced
- Astin Horowitz
- Curterney Huang
- Brayden Jozwiak
- Alex Killgrove
- Woojin Kim
- Ryan Kitzan
- Joe Michael
- Max Song
- Elizabeth Stevenson
- Michael Stevenson
- Nova Swearingen
- Tucker Taplett
- Davis Tonkin
- Mark Tyomkin
- Nathan Tyson
- Kate West
Each season, teams of high school students design, program, and build industrial-sized robots to play an action-packed game, with the game details released in January. Teams participate in regional events in March and April, refining their robot and process along the way.
The 2026 FIRST Robotics Competition game, called REBUILT, is a 3-on-3 alliance game where robots collect yellow foam balls called Fuel from around the field and score them into a central Hub for points. During the match, teams focus on efficiently cycling balls—intaking, transporting, and shooting—while managing traffic and defense. In the final phase, robots shift to climbing a multi-level tower, with higher climbs earning more points. Success comes from balancing fast scoring with a reliable endgame climb, making it a mix of accuracy, speed, and strategic timing.
This year’s Velocity Raptors team overcame significant adversity to qualify for Worlds, and we are very proud of their accomplishments!
Check out this great video, featuring an interview with the WHS engineering team by a national YouTube channel that covers FIRST competitions and the student's robots.
The Woodinville High School Robotics Team "Velocity Raptors" pose after a competition in Cheney, Wash.
The awards team members present to the judges about the accomplishments off the field that highlights the work the team does within the community.
The drive team loads the robot on the field in Cheney, Wash., for Regional Championships. The Woodinville High School team's robot is highlighted on the big screen.
The Woodinville robot (Team 9450) fires yellow balls, called Fuel, at the hub. This robot can shoot between 8 to 9 Fuel per second when scoring and can shoot farther than a full basketball court.
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