There are 4 Michigan districts this week and I’ll take a look at each event, as well as ranking each event. This is Rank 4 for 2023 Week 2, Lansing.
Lansing District
Last Year Winners (201-7056-5150)
After Week 1 where everyone starts with a clean slate, and the only thing to judge off of is past performance and teasers, the next few weeks are difficult to judge because not every team is on equal footing. Some teams have already played an event, whether in Michigan or elsewhere; so how does one compare this to someone who has yet to play? Well, it’s all a guess anyway, so I tried to balance whether teams that were successful will continue to be successful, or will they improve/fall. Let’s just get into it.
Favorites: Lansing is my lowest ranking district this week, because I don’t really see an outright winner from the top of the grid. I firmly believe the favorites for Lansing would barely make contenders at the other 3 districts this week. Yet, there has to be a leading favorite, so I will go with a team with some experience last week, 862-Lightning Robotics. At a minimum 862 was a 4 Seed alliance captain at worlds last year, but since they have played this year I will be judging more off of that performance, as the robot is the same. They competed in Indiana last week where they finished at Rank 5, but seemed to be red carded in the playoffs and eliminated, finishing in 7th. I wasn’t able to find footage so I couldn’t check this, or their robot out. However, lightning seemed to be the best performing robot out of the ones who competed last week, and on top that have a winning resume, so I fully expect them to go for the win. The next two spots go to teams that are making their 2023 debut this week, and they are 51-The Wings of Fire and 3536-Electro Eagles. 51 had a solid season peaking either as a Semifinalist at States, taking 1 of the 3 against a Fimstein competing alliance, or making the playoffs at Worlds as apart of the 7 Seed; Take your pick at what you would value more. The Wings of Fire have always seemed a step behind the top tier teams at events, but with a weaker Lansing district, this could be a way for them to win their first blue banner of the 2020’s. Now when it comes to the Electro Eagles, they had one of their best seasons in team history; being a two time finalist, including at states; then capping it off as an alliance captain at Worlds, and even upsetting the 2 Seed in the first round. They also are one of the few returners from last year’s Lansing district, as they are one of the two returning teams who made the finals last year. So they should focus on the win this year to not only make up for last time, but to win their first event since 2018.
Contenders: Similar to the Favorites, the Contenders consist of two teams making their season starts at Lansing, and one team with some experience. Starting with the experienced team, and the returning winner of last year’s Lansing district, 7056-The F.A.S.T. Team. 7056 was at Milford last week, and I had them as a Dark Horse there, and after their rank 14 qualifying, along with a 5th place finish, they moved up to here in Contenders. The F.A.S.T. Team should look to make Lansing a regular win, as last year was their first win in team history, and hope to make it two in a row, doubling their banner count. Next is a Worlds Division Finalist from last season, 3655-Tractor Technicians. More at a Michigan level, they were the leader of the MSC 8 Seed that upset the 1 Seed, along with finishing at rank 2 at Escanaba. The Tractor Technicians look for a strong start on the field, as well as, assumingly, another Chairman’s/Impact Award. My last contender is 6078-RoboRams who finished in 6th at last year’s Lansing district, and just as appropriate are 6th in this ranking. However, they were a Finalist at Lakeview; they should hope to replicate that type of performance instead, as they hope to bring home a banner for the first time.
Dark Horses:
6610-Robot Roll Call-12th at Kettering 1, 8 Seed Captain, Week 1
7289-Blue Eagles-12th at Calvin University, 8 Seed Captain, Week 1
Playoff Teams to Make a Jump:
5234-MarauderBots
5282-Railroader Robotics-22 at Kettering 1, 2 Seed Pick 2, Finalist, Week 1
5708-Zebrotics
5907-CC Shambots
Second Year Team to Look out For:
8873-Rockefeller Robotics
Prediction:
1 Seed 862-3536 v 2 Seed 7056-51
Next up is Rank 3, Wayne State University.
Coming Tomorrow.
. Just got home from Kettering and recovering from the weirdest event I may have ever seen, definitely gotta catch up and watch this and st.joe.