McCutcheon High School’s robotics lab was buzzing this week as FIRST Team 4272 Maverick Robotics welcomed a visiting team from Texarkana, Texas. The group traveled to Indiana ahead of the Speedway High Stakes VEX V5 Signature Event held at the Dallara IndyCar Factory in Speedway.

Texas High T-Bots 3350, is led by instructional coach Nicole Ayers, a 1988 McCutcheon graduate who now works for Texarkana Independent School District. When she learned her students would be competing in Indiana, she knew she wanted to bring them home to see the place that sparked her own love for learning.

Maverick Robotics is coming off an unforgettable season. In April the team joined three partners to form the alliance that captured the FIRST Robotics Competition World Championship title.

Team member Jersey Troxell says the exchange was valuable on both sides.

“I hope the visitors from Texas take away our team values with them,” Jersey says. “I enjoyed learning about the differences between our two robotics leagues and how they are judged compared to how we are judged. It was a great experience.”

Coach Zach McKeever says the visit gave his students a chance to share their passion for robotics and show success is attainable for any team willing to put in the work.

“Our robots are bigger, sure,” McKeever says, “but what matters most is passion. Anytime our students get the chance to present they enjoy it. It helps them grow.”

McCutcheon students led the Texas group through the lab, demonstrated their award-winning robot and talked through strategies, design choices and the importance of finding a niche and building on it.

The Texas high school team was grateful for the chance to meet with the Mavericks and took away a wealth of information from Coach McKeever. “Even though we compete on different platforms and live in different states, it was wonderful to see all the students connect over their shared passion for robotics and engineering,” Ayers says.

Texas team member Zoe Aldridge says the visit gave them a new perspective. “Meeting the McCutcheon robotics team exposed us to a highly innovative and collaborative version of robotics that is different from what we are used to,” Zoe says. “We saw each element of their team and gained good insight on how they were successful in the previous FRC season.”

For the Mavericks the day was less about competition and more about connection. Hosting Ayers and her students gave McCutcheon robotics members a chance to reflect on their own journey, celebrate their accomplishments and inspire others along the way.