CEDARBURG — Cedarburg High School's Robotics team is the 2026 FIRST Wisconsin District Champions and will be moving on to represent Wisconsin at the World Championship in Houston, Texas on April 29th.
The robotics team, Team 3197 - the Hexhounds - is the high school's official FIRST Robotics Competition team. They were part of a three-team alliance that won last weekend's event, along with teams representing Marquette University High School, Divine Savior Holy Angels High School and Oregon High School. Those schools and other engineering and presentation award-winners throughout the season also qualified for the World competition.
The Hexhounds team consists of more than 30 students from freshmen to seniors.
They are heading to the FIRST Robotics World Championship for the second consecutive year to compete against teams from across the globe.
Watch: Cedarburg High School's Robotics team wins FIRST Wisconsin District Champions
The team's championship-winning robot weighs 150 pounds and is designed to pick up and shoots balls into a basket.
"It's crazy. It's 150 pounds that you have to control at all times," Mason McManus said. "This year especially, it was kind of fun to be able to calculate the launch trajectories and how we had to launch these balls into the basket."
The team relies on dozens of student engineers who fine-tune each system before competitions. Nora Schraeder, a senior who serves as safety coordinator and leads the impact subteam, emphasized the importance of teamwork.
"You need to pass on the knowledge and really make sure your whole team, as a collective, knows what they are doing," Schraeder said. "(It's) more than just building a robot, it's about finding a community."
Head coach and teacher Dan Kniess has watched the sport evolve over the last 11 years, noting that students now use artificial intelligence to help troubleshoot.
"The AI piece isn't a solution, but it is a tool in the toolbox to try to find the answer," Kniess said. "What are some possible reasons behind what's happening, and it will give us a good place to start."
For the seniors, the upcoming trip to Houston represents the culmination of four years of work.
"We knew we wanted to end on a high note for senior year," McManus said. "We've been together since our Freshman year. We've all stuck it out, so that means a lot," McManus said.
The team is currently raising $60,000 to help fund logistics and registration for the World Championship. You can donate by following the link here: https://www.cedarburgrobotics.com/donate/
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