The Climax-Scotts PantherBots are pictured with the Rising All Star Award that the team won at the Michigan FRC State Championship at Saginaw Valley State University April 16-18.
By Bruce Rolfe
While the Climax-Scotts PantherBots robotics team fell short of making the playoff round at the Michigan FRC State Championship at Saginaw Valley State University, the team added to a long list of accomplishments and memories at the event.
Team 11386, operating the robot they named Scorpion, the Panther Bots earned the Rising All Star Award at the State Championships. The Rising All Star Award is given to the team that had persisted through challenges despite the difficulties of being young. This could be the result of being a new team or a team with a recent turnover in membership.
The top 160 teams in the state were competing at the State Championships.
The PantherBots, coached by Chad Schau, and assisted by Adam Audette, are a true first year team made up of 17 C-S students in grades 6th through 11th grade who began with a kitbot and a dream.
The PantherBots were also competing for the state championship Rookie All-Star Award. Schau said other rookie teams that received rookie all star awards at the district level also competed for the State Championship Rookie All-Star Award. The State Championship All-Star Rookie award is based on an interview process.
If the PantherBots would have won the State Championship Rookie All-Star Award the team would have qualified for the World Championships in Houston, Texas April 30-May 2.
The local robotics team finished 6th overall at the Brooklyn District competition and fourth at the Battle Creek Lakeview District competition. The points the PantherBots secured at the two district events qualified C-S for the Michigan FRC State Championship at SVSU.
The team won four separate team awards - Best Rookie Team, Towering Talent Award, “Recently Unearthed” Award for Best Rookie Team at the 2026 Jackson at Columbia District Event, and the Time Circuit Award - at the Brooklyn event. The PantherBots received the Rookie All Star Award at the Battle Creek Lakeview competition.
The PantherBots entered the state competition as the highest ranked rookie team in the entire state and ranked 28th overall out of 530 teams in the FIRST in Michigan District (FIM).
The team also received a letter from State Representative Sarah Lightner offering congratulations to a fine season and good luck at the State Championships.
“It exceeded every expectation I had. I’m just so proud of the team and what we were able to do. And everybody that just came together to help support the team. I couldn’t imagine doing this without the support that this community has given us and the parents have given to us. It was everything I wanted and more. I always wanted to bring a robotics team to Climax. I was always kind of nervous about being able to do it and whether or not it would be successful. I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to be successful,” offered Schau.
The PantherBots coach said all the first year success sends the team into the off season with optimism and ideas to spur interest and keep the momentum going into the next school year.
He said the team plans to have the robot in the Memorial Day parade in Climax May 25.
Schau said the team will also attempt to schedule some off season competitions that won’t be official events but are more for practice opportunities.
While the Climax-Scotts PantherBots robotics team fell short of making the playoff round at the Michigan FRC State Championship at Saginaw Valley State University, the team added to a long list of accomplishments and memories at the event.
Team 11386, operating the robot they named Scorpion, the Panther Bots earned the Rising All Star Award at the State Championships. The Rising All Star Award is given to the team that had persisted through challenges despite the difficulties of being young. This could be the result of being a new team or a team with a recent turnover in membership.
The top 160 teams in the state were competing at the State Championships.
The PantherBots, coached by Chad Schau, and assisted by Adam Audette, are a true first year team made up of 17 C-S students in grades 6th through 11th grade who began with a kitbot and a dream.
The PantherBots were also competing for the state championship Rookie All-Star Award. Schau said other rookie teams that received rookie all star awards at the district level also competed for the State Championship Rookie All-Star Award. The State Championship All-Star Rookie award is based on an interview process.
If the PantherBots would have won the State Championship Rookie All-Star Award the team would have qualified for the World Championships in Houston, Texas April 30-May 2.
The local robotics team finished 6th overall at the Brooklyn District competition and fourth at the Battle Creek Lakeview District competition. The points the PantherBots secured at the two district events qualified C-S for the Michigan FRC State Championship at SVSU.
The team won four separate team awards - Best Rookie Team, Towering Talent Award, “Recently Unearthed” Award for Best Rookie Team at the 2026 Jackson at Columbia District Event, and the Time Circuit Award - at the Brooklyn event. The PantherBots received the Rookie All Star Award at the Battle Creek Lakeview competition.
The PantherBots entered the state competition as the highest ranked rookie team in the entire state and ranked 28th overall out of 530 teams in the FIRST in Michigan District (FIM).
The team also received a letter from State Representative Sarah Lightner offering congratulations to a fine season and good luck at the State Championships.
“It exceeded every expectation I had. I’m just so proud of the team and what we were able to do. And everybody that just came together to help support the team. I couldn’t imagine doing this without the support that this community has given us and the parents have given to us. It was everything I wanted and more. I always wanted to bring a robotics team to Climax. I was always kind of nervous about being able to do it and whether or not it would be successful. I had no doubt in my mind that we were going to be successful,” offered Schau.
The PantherBots coach said all the first year success sends the team into the off season with optimism and ideas to spur interest and keep the momentum going into the next school year.
He said the team plans to have the robot in the Memorial Day parade in Climax May 25.
Schau said the team will also attempt to schedule some off season competitions that won’t be official events but are more for practice opportunities.
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