Triple Helix traveled to St. Louis April 26^th-29^th and finished the robotics season with a strong semifinalist finish at the National FIRST Robotics Championship. Menchville ranked 37^th overall out of 66 teams for their category at the event.

The National FIRST Robotics Championship is the final competition of the 2017 robotics season. The event was attended by over 400 teams from the United States and a few international countries. Teams were split into six different categories, all named after important scientific figures, with the winners of each category moving on to compete on the Einstein Field for a chance at winning the overall championship.

Menchville’s robotics team competed in the Archimedes division, consisting of 66 other teams from the United States and Canada. Triple Helix participated in 15 matches during the event, winning 9. They advanced through the qualifications and quarterfinals to the semifinal rounds, where the team formed an alliance with the EngiNERDs and the Jacktown Vectors from Michigan, and later the Tigertrons from Pennsylvania. The alliance won the second semifinal match with a 77 point lead, but ultimately ended up losing the finalist spot by just 3 points. Though they did not advance to the final competition rounds, Triple Helix had good overall scores for the event and ranked 37^th in the Archimedes division.

The National FIRST Robotics Championship concludes the 2017 FIRST Robotics season. Through the course of the competition season, Triple Helix participated in four official events- two district events, a district championship, and the national championship. The awards won by the team this year were numerous, including one first place win, two second place wins, two Gracious Professionalism Awards, and the prestigious Chairman’s Award. Even at the National Championship, Triple Helix improved their ranking by three spots and made it through two more finalist levels in the competition.

Now in the robotics offseason, Triple Helix will not be competing more this year. The team will, however, start prepping for the 2018 season next fall. The new competition season will bring a completely different game, design, and requirements for the robot, which Triple Helix will be striving to meet during the design, build, and programming stage next year.