April O'Neil / news@WHMI.com

Three middle school robotics teams at Howell Public Schools have earned the right to compete at the FIRST in Michigan FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) State Championship event later this month.

Teams KRASH, KUDOS, and KAOS qualified for the state event based on their performance at various qualifying competitions. The FIRST in Michigan FTC Championship - NW will be held Dec. 15-17 at Parker Middle School.

Team KRASH earned the opportunity to compete at the state event by being the Finalist Alliance first team selected at the Midland Qualifier. Also at the event, KRASH earned second place for the Control Award, finished match play in fifth place, and advanced to the qualifier finals before being eliminated.

Team KUDOS punched their ticket to the state event as the Inspire Award second-place winner at the Lakeview Qualifier. At that event, Kudos won the Think Award, placed second for the Motivate award, finished match play in sixth place, and advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated.

Team KAOS advanced to the state finals by being named the Inspire Award second-place winner at the Fruitport Qualifier. The team also won the Connect Award at the event and finished match play in 13th place.

This year’s FTC game is Centerstage. In Centerstage, the student-built robots must navigate the playing field to collect Pixels and earn points by placing them in the Backdrop or Backstage area of the playing field. In the game, there are different colored Pixels placed in specific patterns.