[Cartwright]

I originally wondered the same thing about 217 over 254, but what I soon saw was that not only did 217 and 1114 have connections, but 217 could do what 254 could not do as easily: place the ball at the end. Though, it didn't affect the outcome of many of the matches the Galileo #1 Alliance played, it is still an advantage from a scouting standpoint.
I thought 148 was a good pick because they didn't really need another hurdler. What they needed is a racer, and there was probably no better racer on Galileo than 148. Yes, there were robots that may have been just as fast, but 148 had used a strategy throughout the competition that helped them a lot as a racer. However, I did think it was interesting that 1114 took the risk in having a racer along side a robot that was known to have broken multiple times. For a team to do make that decision, I think they must be very sure of their own abilities because once 217 broke, nobody could help 1114 hurdle. Obviously they were confident in their abilities to win without help hurdling. 1114 is by far my favorite robot, and I thought it was great that they chose 217, essentially giving them the chance to win a second national championship.