The robotics team placed 17th out of 61 teams at the KCFIRST Robotics Competition, March 4-6.

For two days, robotics teams from the Greater Kansas City area met to compete and show off their robot-building abilities.

“They did a very, very good job,” sponsor Bob Stewart said. “It really is something to be proud of.”

The competition requires that students design and build a radio-controlled robot capable of competing against other robots in a soccer-style game. Each team attempts to score points in a two-minute time period, avoiding hilly terrain and blocks from the opposing team. New this year are rules that prohibit the robots from lifting the ball. Only kicking is allowed.

Members of the Cougar Robotics team competed in 10 matches ­— winning seven, losing twice and tying once. The team scored high early on, but lost out late in the game.

“In robotics, we face a difficult task, building a robot in six weeks,” junior Ryan Kirkendall said. “It takes a lot out of you, but once the robot is completed, you realize how much you have learned. We do these things because they are hard and challenging, and when it’s all over, we are glad we did it.”