History

The FTC Robotics participation began in the fall of 2014 and has grown over the past seven seasons.  Some participants have been consistent over the years. Seniors Michael Thompson, Jarret Henke, Erica Vosberg, and Joshua Thies have been involved for more than four years. New team members are recruited every year, and the team is in decent shape for the coming years. 

The Crocobots Robotics Team started in the 2014-2015 season. The game was Cascade Effect. We were getting to know how FTC works and how to become successful. It was a learning year, so being competitive was not a top priority. Participants were Abby Hintz, Holly Boyd, Shawn Heilman, Mykaela Jacobson, Teanna Hintz, Ben Thompson, and Angel Bobbe. 

The game for the 2015-2016 season was First Res-Q. Returning participants were Ben Thompson, Teanna Hintz, and Shawn Heilman. The new participants included Tristan Jacobson, Erik Reichenberg, Peyton Hall, Jacob Gonzales, Amber Frank, and Ashley Frank. This year is when we invented our famous tank treads. We got the Rockwell Collins Innovate Award for the tank treads and a Finalist Alliance Award.  

The game for 2016-2017 was Velocity Vortex. The game's objective was to throw balls through the center place and move them into the corner.  Participants who were returning were Ben Thompson, Ashley Frank, Amber Frank, Erik Reichenberg, Jacob Gonzales, and Peyton Hall. New participants were Justin Chase, Annika Towe, Caden Albers, Derin Sailer, Wesley Gerving, and Jayden Hall. During the state competition, our robot did a backflip off an exercise ball in the game.

The 2017-2018 season was the best season for our team so far. The game was Relic Recovery. Returning participants were Ashley Frank, Ben Thompson, Abby Hintz, Erik Reichenberg, Peyton Hall, and Jayden Hall. The new participants were Morgan Vitek, Macauley Haag, Dawson Bohrer, and Katie Frank. This was the year we changed our name to the Crocobots. We used Crocs (shoes), and some members of our team wore crocodile outfits, crocodile hats, and outback hats to the competition. The Team won the Think Award and was a part of the winning alliance, advancing to Super Regionals in Iowa. We did not compete very well in Iowa, but it was still a fun experience to face off against teams from different states.  

In the 2018-2019 season, the game for that was Rover Ruckus. The returning participants were Teanna Hintz, Ashley Frank, Ben Thompson, Erik Reichenberg, and Jayden Hall. Our team did a better job with the notebook. We were the runner-up for many awards. We won the Motivate Award, were first runner-up for the Inspire Award, and were second runner-up for the Design Award and the Rockwell Collins Award. 

The 2019-2020 season’s game is Skystone. The game’s objective is to grab blocks and stack as high as you can. Returning participants were Ben Thompson, Jayden Hall, and Caden Albers. Our new members are Ethan Thies, Joshua Thies, Jarret Henke, Michael Thompson, Emma Phillips, Kori Nagel, Kathryn Kraft, and Cheyenne Clinton. One success from this year was our sustainability. We brought in four eighth graders to replace the graduating participants. 

In the 2020-2021 season, the game was Ultimate Goal. The object of the game was to put rings into different slots, earning your team different amounts of points. Returning participants were Jayden Hall, Caden Albers, Ethan Thies, Joshua Thies, Jarret Henke, and Michael Thompson. Our new members included Katie Frank, Breanna Vosberg, and Cameron Albers. This year's biggest achievement was to be flexible and fix all the ongoing problems that were occurring throughout the competition day.

The 2021-2022 season competition was named Freight Frenzy. The idea of the game was to place blocks on a layered shipping hub to earn points. The higher the block was placed; the more points were earned. Returning participants were Jayden Hall, Caden Albers, Joshua Thies, Jarret Henke, Michael Thompson, Katie Frank, Cameron Albers, Bree Vosberg, and Katelyn Albers. We were privileged enough to have several new team members, including Ericka Vosberg, Rylee Hintz, Elena Sorge, Reana Schmidt, Seth Hall, Kelan Hintz, Treyden Henke, Caiden Quinlivan, and Kennedy Albers.

The 2022-2023 season competition was named PowerPlay. The idea of the game was to place cones on poles to create junctions. The more cones that were placed in a series of lines, the more points you could earn; if you placed the cones from one corner to the diagonal corner, you could earn a junction. Teams earned points by capturing the pole and placing their cone on the pole last. We went to state this year and took 6th place and made it to the semifinals with our alliance. Our returning members were Joshua Thies, Jarret Henke, Michael Thompson, Katie Frank, Cameron Albers, Bree Vosberg, Katelyn Albers, Ericka Vosberg, Rylee Hintz, Elena Sorge, Seth Hall, Kelan Hintz, Treyden Henke, Caiden Quinlivan, and Kennedy Albers. We were privileged enough to have several new team members, including Rachel Schmidt, Kallen Albers, and Caleb Thies.

The 2023-2024 season competition was named Center Stage. The idea of the game was to place pixels on backdrops to create mosaics. The more pixels that were placed patterns, the more points you could earn; if you placed the pixels above a certain line, you could earn more points. Teams could also earn points by hanging from a framework and launching a paper airplane. We went to state this year and took placed highly at both qualifiers we attended. Our returning members were Joshua Thies, Jarret Henke, Michael Thompson, Ericka Vosberg, Rylee Hintz, Elena Sorge, Seth Hall, Kelan Hintz, Treyden Henke, Caiden Quinlivan, Rachel Schmidt, Kallen Albers, Caleb Thies, and Kennedy Albers.