Time’s up! With screwdrivers in hand and eyes peeled the Poway High robotics Team Spyder let go of their robot and waited for their final placement at the International FIRST Championships hosted in Houston, Texas.
Going against 75 teams in their division, they ranked 40th. Although they didn’t win, the trip on April 17 to 20 became an important accomplishment
for them.
“There were so many teams from everywhere. Everyone was so eager to help each other despite competing against eachother… In the CURIE division we had 5 wins and 5 loses,” Co-President junior Serena Falucho said.
To get to the world competition, Team Spyder qualified in regionals including the Magnolia (Mississippi) Regional, where they placed second out of 38 teams, the first time they finaled in years.

Spyder did not take the win so easily in Houston. “Early on in the matches
our robot got hit, and we spent the entire day rebuilding the robot, for it to be fully functional the next day, yet we went out and played defense, so we were on the field,” robotics coach Rodger Dohm said.
Most of the awards that Spyder earns are for their unique approach. They win awards like the Imagery award and Judges Awards. Engineering teacher Dohm and ceramics teacher Todd Parr collaborate as the head coaches of the team.

Senior Marshall Hamon has been a part of Spyder since his freshman year.
“Robotics is just like any other team sport. There is a common goal, and there is no way to achieve it alone. For that reason, there has to be a team, and, in order to be successful, they all have to work together. You see a lot of communication across the technical departments,” Hamon said.

In addition to competitions the team has done outreach in many places including Paraguay. Ecuador, and Libya.

“We did a lot of volunteer work mentoring team across the globe and had an
amazing team working on our impact,” Senior Reed Ganzer said.