The Mighty ROBO-RANGERS Team 5960 from Mission High School and Alton Memorial Junior High School represented Mission CISD and the Rio Grande Valley as the only Valley team to compete at the 2017 FIRST (For Inspiration & Recognition of Science & Technology) World Championship in Houston, Texas April 19-22. The team finished in the top 50 of more than 400 teams from 26 countries.
In only their second year competing in FIRST robotics challenges, the ROBO-RANGERS have received more than $20,000 in grants from FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) title sponsors. They were awarded the NASA Robotics Alliance Project Program Growth Grant of $5,000, the Argosy Foundation Rookie Team Grant of $6,000, the FIRST in Texas Dell Grant for $3,000, and the FIRST in Texas – Texas Workforce Commission Grant for $1,500. Additionally, the Texas Workforce Commission granted the ROBO-RANGERS Team 5960 another $5,000 after they qualified for the FRC World Championship to cover registration fees.
At the 2017 FIRST FRC World Championship Houston, the Mighty ROBO-RANGERS Team 5960 finished in the Top 50 of the world from the 401 FRC teams competing. Team 5960 was selected to compete in the Turing Sub-Division and were chosen by the No. 5 Alliance Captain the Robo Vikes Team 4206 from Nolan Catholic High School in Fort Worth, TX. They were joined by Team 4587 Jersey Voltage from Houston, TX and Team 4468 Fernbank LINKS from Atlanta, Georgia. The No. 5 Alliance went on into a tie-breaker match against the No. 1 Alliance led by Full Metal Jackets 1296, 1323, 2473, and 6554. The No. 5 Alliance finished as Semi-Finalist of the Turing Division. This ranked the teams of the Alliance in the Top 50 of all the 401 teams competing. This is a huge accomplishment for any FRC team, especially a second year FRC team in this caliber of a competition. Season facts for this 2017 FRC Season were the following: 3,357 FRC Teams World-Wide, (2,932 Veteran Teams and 425 Rookie Teams), 84,000 Youth Team Members, 20,000+ Mentors/Coaches/Adult Supporters, and 26 Countries.
The Mighty ROBO-RANGERS coaches/mentors are: Sammy Rivera, Robert Granados, Noe Peña, Lorena Lopez, Samantha Granados, David Bridgewater, Rosalva Gonzalez, and Damaris Rivera.