Shrewsbury’s FLL Robotics Team CyberSquad Unearths Back-to-Back Champions Awards

Congratulations Team CyberSquad!

Let’s meet the members, all students from Shrewsbury schools: returning teammates Cullen Bautista and Cayleigh Bautista, joined by new members Caden Bautista (the youngest member), Evin Job, Mokshitha Manikonda, Mahith Manikonda, Eva Shrivastava, and Yash Kumaresan.
With more than 500 teams competing all over Massachusetts this year, CyberSquad is one of the select few teams that earned a spot to advance to World Championships/Open tournaments.

In this year’s FLL UNEARTHED season, inspired by archaeology, the CyberSquad continued a remarkable story of perseverance and excellence by earning the Champions Award for the second year in a row.

During their outreach activities, they shared their knowledge with younger students, introducing them to FLL, helping them understand what it takes to become a contestant, and showing how rewarding it can be to experience a journey like the one CyberSquad has gone through.

For CyberSquad, returning this year for their third season came with a lot of determination after coming up short of winning an award during their rookie season at the State Championship. With a mission to fulfill the unfinished business they left behind, the well-motivated CyberSquad started strong this season—instead of attending a scrimmages, they hosted their own scrimmage hosting multiple teams.
Their journey reflects not only technical growth but also increased confidence, leadership, and teamwork.

The judges recognized their skills in building and coding, robot design, and their innovation project. They appreciated their creativity in developing engaging presentations, their hard work, and their collaboration in all aspects of the FIRST Core Values.
During their journey, the team has shown remarkable commitment to balancing academic responsibilities with their passion for robotics by developing strong time-management skills and structured schedules that allow them to excel both in school and in the FLL Challenge.

At their Regional/Qualifier competition on Dec. 6, 2025 the team earned the 1st Place Champions Award—the highest honor in FLL—recognizing excellence across all areas of FLL: Robot Performance, Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values. This achievement set the stage for their performance at the State Championship on Dec. 13, 2025 at WPI, where they once again rose above intense competition to secure the Champions Award for a second consecutive year.

During the State Championship award presentation, the emcee—the Program Delivery Partner for MA—captured the essence of their season by mentioning what the judges had to say:

“This team has the spirit of a Champion. Wowing the judges with their modular robot attachments, they completed multiple missions at the same time. Their Innovation Project, helping archaeologists dig and sort artifacts, really sifted this squad out from the rest. Congratulations to Team 60438 – The CyberSquad, for two years in a row!”

As one of the recipients of the Champions Award, CyberSquad’s journey continues, earning the opportunity to advance to the next level of play and becoming eligible to join one of the following worldwide competitions:
1. FLL World Festival – Houston, TX, joining FTC and FRC Championships
2. FLL Open International Championship Greece – The Ranch, Sofiko, Korinthos 20004, Greece
3. FLL Mexico International Open Championship – Jalisco, MX
4. FLL Western Edge Open Invitational – Long Beach, CA
5. FLL Georgia Ramblin’ Robots Invitational – Atlanta, GA (Georgia Tech Campus)
6. FLL International Canada Cup – Canada Games Park, Thorold, Ontario
7. FLL Korea Open Invitational – Jeonju-si, Jeonbuk-do, South Korea.

Now, CyberSquad stands ready to unearth new challenges on the global stage, their modular robots and innovative ideas poised to inspire the next generation of STEM leaders. As they prepare for worlds, their story reminds us that true champions dig deep, innovate boldly, and lift others along the way.
The Shrewsbury community cheers them on—keep unearthing greatness, CyberSquad!