Chop Shop Drive members Tim, Liam, Coach Connor McBride, Trenton and Christian hold the team’s awards after winning the Curie Division. Courtesy photo/Chop Shop 166

MERRIMACK – The Merrimack High School FIRST Robotics Competition team, Chop Shop 166, recently traveled to Houston for the FIRST Championship.

The worldwide event hosts more than 600 FRC teams across eight divisions.

Chop Shop 166 competed in 10 qualifying matches over two days finishing 25th in the Curie Division. The team’s performance was noticed and Chop Shop 166 was selected as the third pick in Alliance Number Five. The alliance turned out to be an absolute powerhouse, plowing through the Curie playoff matches to win the division.

“FIRST Championships is always an amazing experience between the level of play and the chance to meet teams from around the world,” said Matthew Gage, lead mentor of Chop Shop 166. “As a team, we were very consistent on the field, which is important at an event like this, which is why we ended on an alliance that won our division.”

The eight division winners then faced off in the Einstein playoffs pitting the best alliances from each field against each other to determine who was the best in the world. The Curie Division Alliance was ultimately eliminated in the 12th playoff match and finished fourth in the world.

Despite the loss, Gage said this was one of the “greatest seasons” in team history.

“We were finalists at two regular season competitions and were part of a division winning alliance at FIRST Championships. On top of that, we won four different awards, including two of the top awards in FIRST,” he said. “While all that is amazing, what is more significant to me is the number of people we have interacted with and helped to get excited about STEM. Through our events, we have had interactions with thousands of people and have become part of the fabric of Merrimack. I can’t be more proud of how hard the kids work to get people excited about the potential of STEM and I can’t wait to see how these efforts grow in the coming years.”

“FIRST Championship is always a fun time for the team. This year many members were able to take the time and fully explore the venue and what it had to offer,” said Shane G., co-captain of Chop Shop 166. “Additionally the skill and time demonstrated by the 600-plus teams is always very interesting to see. Chop Shop also made it to Einstein for the first time in its 32-year history, setting another team record.”

“Just making it to Worlds was already an incredible win for the team, but it was amazing to see how much success and fun we were able to have in Houston,” said Tim B., co-captain of Chop Shop 166. “Along with placing higher than we did at the New England District Championships and getting further than we ever have, it was great to see how much fun the students were having, especially those newer to the team and this experience.”

Both Tim and Shane will be graduating in June. They shared how this team and this season has impacted them.

“As a senior and two-year co-captain of Chop Shop, I’ve learned that although I am happy when I’ve grown, I’m fulfilled when the team grows. The students and mentors on this team are some of the kindest, brightest, smartest people I’ve ever met,” said Tim. “Chop Shop is my home and family, and I’m so proud that we were recognized for all of the effort that the people on this team put in. We are not the robot we construct or the awards we win, but the impact we make on our community and the people we build to become leaders.”

“This year has been absolutely incredible. The robot performed well and we were Finalists at two of our district events. We were awarded Engineering Inspiration, Impact and Team Sustainability awards,” said Shane. The team even completely funded a third event. The team shattered multiple personal records, such as medals in a season, as well as performance at the World Championships. All the while, the team has continued to run our various outreach events, furthering our efforts into becoming a cornerstone in our community. I could not be more proud of the team, and am excited to see what it’ll do next once I have graduated.”

Chop Shop 166 will be hosting an off-season competition, Mayhem in Merrimack, on May 17 at 8 a.m. at Merrimack High School, 38 McElwain St.