History of 5458
Founded August 26, 2014, Team 5458 has built an amazing history over its 10 years.
2024: Cresendo
In 2024, Team 5458 had an outstanding year, participating in two regional competitions with swerve drive for the first time. At the Sac Regional, we utilized our ingenuity throughout the competition which led us to 10th place out of 38 teams. At Sac we also won the Creativity Award, for our innovative and interesting design. At our second regional, Aerospace Valley, we successfully obtained 5th place out of 40 teams. We also received the Judges Award, this award was given to us because of our wide-range community outreach, STEM accessibility, and dedication to inclusivity.
Throughout the season and offseason we hosted multiple WISE (Women In Stem Empowerment) Events to encourage young children to become interested through various STEM activities. So far we’ve had more than 100+ students come to our WISE events. During the summer we held our annual robotics camps to give elementary and middle schoolers the opportunity to learn about STEM over the course of a week. We held three total camps: two beginner skill levels, and one intermediate.
In July, we took part in the first Sunset Showdown offseason competition, which took place on the deck of the USS Hornet in Alameda. For this competition we experimented with april tags to account for the outside environment of a ship. At this competition we finished 12th out of 40 teams. Our newer members acheived a lot of new experiences from this competition for the upcoming season.
In August we volunteered at the Yolo County Fair and introduced children to robotics. Many students were enthusiastic about the design and engineering process behind fabricating such a robust robot. Through these events we were able to reach out to thousands of community members.
2023: Charged Up
Team 5458 excelled in two regional robotics competitions, highlighting our dedication and innovation. At the FRC Sacramento Regional, we improved throughout the event, securing a commendable 25th place out of 46 teams in the qualification round, moving us to the finals. Our success continued at the FRC Silicon Valley Regional, where we secured an impressive 7th place out of 60 teams by the end. Our team was also awarded the Industrial Design Award for the use of 3D-printed parts as well as our unique and robust telescopic arm. In the playoffs, we captained the 5th-seeded alliance and won our first match but were eventually eliminated by the third seeded alliance.
In the year’s off-season, we participated in the Capital City Classic competition and were selected by the first seeded alliance, which won the competition. Our team also hosted robotics summer camps for elementary schoolers in our Title 1 district. We also made the challenging transition to swerve drive and learned to program in Java while recruiting and training new members. In December 2023, our team participated in the Woodland Holiday Parade, showcasing three of our past robots and fostering an interest in robotics among members of our community.
2022: Rapid React
In the 2022 season, our team made a triumphant return to in-person activities after a period of remote engagement due to the pandemic. Our journey began at the Sac Regionals, where we initially ranked 35th out of 43 teams due to a tough match schedule. However, our strengths were seen and we were selected by the first-ranked alliance, ultimately securing 1st place at Sac after overcoming numerous challenging matches. This achievement qualified us to the Houston competition.
Our next regional event took place at the Silicon Valley regionals in San Jose, where we didn’t advance beyond the qualifications but still managed to secure a commendable 24th place out of 59 teams. As we ventured into the World Championship in Houston, Texas, as part of the Newton Division, our ranking didn’t soar, but the experience was a memorable one as we had the opportunity to collaborate with teams from around the globe, fostering a global spirit of camaraderie.
During the off-season, we actively participated in the Capital City Classic, achieving an impressive 7th place out of 33 competing teams. We also had the privilege of captaining the 4th alliance and progressing to the quarter-finals, showcasing our team’s resilience and strategic prowess. Moreover, our team took part in the 2022 CADathon, where our dedicated members invested countless hours in designing a robot, ultimately securing 1st place among 34 other participating teams, an outstanding accomplishment that highlights our commitment to innovation and excellence.
Finally, during the off-season, we hosted a summer camp for younger students eager to explore STEM education. This initiative not only offered valuable learning opportunities but also encouraged the development of fresh ideas within our community, fostering a sense of growth and collaboration among aspiring young minds.
2021: FRC At Home
Despite not being able to attend competitions, meet in person during the season (January-April), or build a robot this year, team 5458 made the most of these unique circumstances and the at-home challenges. FIRST developed three challenges for the 2021 season; the Infinite Recharge at Home challenge, where our team used CAD to design a robot for the 2020 game, the Game Design challenge, where teams came up with an original game that could be played in an FRC season, and the Innovation Challenge, where teams designed an innovation to improve physical and mental wellness through active movement. Our Innovation and Game Design Challenge groups interviewed with FRC judges, and our Innovation Challenge team was designated as a semifinalist! As a semifinalist, our team had the opportunity to apply to be a Qualcomm Innovation Ambassador, which we were selected for. As an ambassador, the Innovation challenge team will share their experience designing/innovating and encourage more people to explore innovation.
2020: Infinite Recharge
During the beginning of the 2020 season, Team 5458 members took on increased leadership roles within the individual subteams, and achieved tremendous growth in training members in building, designing, and programming. Though the COVID-19 pandemic sadly interrupted a season we hoped would bring us great success, our team has found ways to give back to our community. Using 3-D Printers, our team partnered with Square One, the makerspace at the Woodland Public Library, to produce face shields for frontline workers, who are fighting endlessly against COVID-19 (Pictures under the Images tab).
2019: Deep Space
The 2019 season showed our team making huge strides. Robot wise, it was our first year with an elevator, which greatly increased our scoring capabilities.
At the Central Valley Regional, we ranked 16th out of 49 teams and were selected for the 5th alliance, allowing us to finish as quarterfinalists. Though we didn’t do as well at the Sacramento Regional, we were still selected for the 6th seeded alliance, and finished our competition season off as quarterfinalists.
We also participated in more offseason competitions, including Capital City Classic and MadTown Throwdown. At Capital City Classic, we were chosen for the 2nd seeded alliance for the second year in a row, and came home as 2nd place finalists. In our first experience at MadTown Throwdown, we were selected for the 3rd seeded alliance.
In a heated round of finals matches, we left as 2nd place finalists among some of the best teams in the world. We also further developed our summer camps with a new Intermediate session where students who were capable of the fundamentals could progress through more difficult challenges, and built community teams and clubs at elementary and middle schools to expose more students to opportunities in STEM.
2018: Power Up
In 2018, our team ranked 9th out of 48 teams at the Central Valley Regional in Fresno. We made it to quarterfinals and were picked to be on the 3rd ranked alliance.
Although we didn’t perform as well at the Sacramento Regional, it was enough to qualify us for the 2018 World Championships in Houston, TX. We were selected by the 4th seeded alliance in our division, and finished as quarterfinalists, a huge accomplishment for our team. In our offseason competition that fall, Capital City Classic, we continued to surpass our expectations, finishing as finalists as part of the alliance headed by our mother team, Team 1678 Citrus Circuits.
This season was also our first year hosting a Youth Robotics Summer Camp for students in grades 4-8 where students learned to work collaboratively on project-based challenges using VEX Robotics kits.
2017: Steamworks
In 2017, our team ranked 12th out of 56 teams at the Sacramento Competition. We made it onto quarterfinals and had the opportunity to be alliance captains. At the Las Vegas Regional, we placed 9th out of 49 teams and were alliance captains once again. We were up against top tier teams – one of which is mentored by NASA. Unfortunately, our team did not advance to finals, but we made noteworthy accomplishments nonetheless. We managed to achieve a spot at the 2017 World Championships in Houston, TX, and finished in 2nd place out of 67 teams in our division.
2016: Stronghold
During the 2016 build season, at the Sacramento Regional, Digital Minds ranked 36th, out of 60 teams, and proceeded to rise as high as the 11th rank before the end of the competition– finishing in the top third of the field.
2015: Recycle Rush
On March 21, 2015, Team 5458 won finals and the Rookie All-Star Award at the Sacramento Regional in UC Davis. The award recognized us for being a first year team and our dedication to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education. This double qualified us for the FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, a rare opportunity that only 600 out of over 3,000 FRC teams were able to experience.