Mechanical Advantage Wins District Event

By Sam LeDoux

Last weekend, 6328 shipped out to Salem, New Hampshire to compete in their first district event and debut their new robot for the 2025 FIRST season: Manta.

6328 performed strongly in their qualification matches, ranking third overall prior to alliance selection and being selected by 3467, Windham Windup (ranked first) to join their alliance, which they accepted. Team 9443, the Aluminum Panthers, was also selected to join their alliance. Together, they made Alliance 1.

Alliance 1 had a strong start to their playoff matches; however, they were pushed into the lower bracket after having lost their second match. Despite this setback, they clawed their way back up to the finals, facing off against 4909, 2877, and 1512: Alliance 2. 

The first round ended in an Alliance 1 victory, with a score of 161-121. The second round also ended in a win for Alliance 1, now with a score of 181-145, rounding out the event by setting a new high score! With two out of three rounds won, Alliance 1 had officially won the Granite State district event.

• During the awards ceremony, 6328 received two awards (besides Event Winner):

• Safety All-Star: The best safety practices and pit maintenance among other teams; 6328 was selected through nomination by other teams.

Engineering Inspiration: “Celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.” ¹

6328 also completed interviews with judges for the Impact and Dean’s List awards², which indicate the impact the team has made on its surrounding community and a student with a passion for engineering, respectively. Additionally, one of their mentors, Katie Bonner, was nominated for the Woodie Flowers award², which acknowledges phenomenal leadership, kindness, and inspiration within a team’s mentor. Congratulations, Katie!

6328 came home with a total win-loss-tie ratio of 14-5-0 and began gearing up for their next event in Durham, New Hampshire, beginning March 21nd. For more information, you can click here to see the event listing on the official FIRST website.

 ¹"Awards based on Team Attributes," FIRST Robotics, Oct 10, 2024. 

 ²"Submitted Awards," FIRST Robotics, May 6, 2025.

Works Cited

“Awards Based on Team Attributes | FIRST.” FIRST Robotics, https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/frc/awards-based-on-team-attributes. Accessed 20 May 2025.

“Submitted Awards | FIRST.” FIRST Robotics, https://www.firstinspires.org/resource-library/frc/submitted-awards. Accessed 20 May 2025.