Bolles FIRST Tech Challenge Team 11172-Static Discharge won the Inspire Award at the Florida FTC State Championship held March 6-7 in Winter Haven, Florida, becoming the first Bolles FTC team to earn the state championship’s top honor.

The Inspire Award recognizes teams who demonstrate excellence across multiple areas, including Machine, Creativity, Innovation (MCI), Team Attributes (TA) and Think award categories. Bolles Robotics Coach Paul Sollee ’88 said winners of this award are seen as an all-around inspiration for others.

With the win, Static Discharge became the No. 2 qualifier to advance to the World FIRST Championship to be held in Houston, Texas, April 29-May 2. They will be one of 256 teams competing from more than 95 regions from across the globe.

Static Discharge also posted solid results in match play. In their division (Lawrence), Static Discharge finished the qualification matches ranked 13th out of 30 teams with a 4-4 match record. The team was also selected to be an alliance partner in the Lawrence Division playoffs, where they went 1-2 with Team 16290-Z.I.P. Ties from Sanford, Florida. Static Discharge team members are Meghanne Posick ’26, Jay Manohar ’26, Jayan Deshmukh ’26, Nikhil Desai ’29, Sona Deshmukh ’29 and Krish Manohar ’30.

Another Bolles team, Team 22127-Mischievous Mechanics, also delivered a strong showing at the state championship. Competing in the Scott Division, the team went 5-3 in qualification matches, ranked ninth out of 30 teams and was selected as an alliance partner by Team 22012-Loose Screws of Orlando for the playoffs.

Mischievous Mechanics finished 2-2 in playoff matches and ended one win short of advancing to the division finals. Team members include Bowen Body ’26, David Dong ’26, Jay Alanghat ’26, Arnav Shah ’26, Jake Kovacacy ’25, Akhil Ketty ’26 and Charlie Milian ’26.

These achievements mark another successful year for the Bolles FTC program under coaches Sollee and Devan Skapetis. Congratulations to both FTC teams, and good luck to Static Discharge at worlds!