See all our team members and get some quick bits of information about each of them and what they do on 6709 S.P.U.D. Inc's team. MEET THE TEAM Students Our team prides ourselves on being a student driven, mentor supported team. We enjoy being able to choose what direction our team goes using mentors to assist us in making sure the choices we make are the right ones, or if not, helping us learn from our mistakes. Jude Slack Role: Build member Grade: 12 Years in FIRST: 6 Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------" Theo Johnson Role: Build Lead Grade: 11 Years in FIRST: 4 Favorite memory: "Hanging out at the pool in Lacrosse during a competition." Reason you joined: "I had Mrs. Forgey as a teacher and she was the captain of the team at the time." AnnaGrace Berger Role: Co Business Lead Grade: 10 Years in FIRST: 3 Favorite memory: "Bringing in baked goods to share with the team" Reason you joined: "My brother was in it" Elyas Anderson Role: -- Grade: 9 Years in FIRST: 2 Favorite memory: "Taking apart a robot." Reason you joined: "I like robots." Paxton Fluegel Role: Driver Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 2 Favorite memory: "My first time driving the robot was my favorite part." Reason you joined: "Robot cool" Cooper Koesel Role: Build Member Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 2 Favorite memory: "Duluth comp" Reason you joined: "STEM Night" Caiden Nelson Role: Programmer Grade: 12 Years in FIRST: ------ Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------" Jacob Stegora Role: Programmer Grade: 10 Years in FIRST: 4 Favorite memory: "Probably walking into the competition stadium for the first time." Reason you joined: "The reason I joined is because I just enjoy working on things that I want to work on." Soren Schabilion Role: Co Business Lead Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 2 Favorite memory: "When we each donated 5 bucks at 1 in the morning to buy a cardboard cutout of the Becker robotics coach." Reason you joined: "My friends were doing it and so was my brother" Chris Carter Role: Build Member Grade: 9 Years in FIRST: 3 Favorite memory: "Recording programmers fixing autos and the bot going full speed into the wall" Reason you joined: "My mom told me to :)" Louis Haley Role: Programmer Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 1 Favorite memory: "When the bit of shrapnel flew across the room. :)" Reason you joined: "Everyone told me to." Annika Vagle Role: Build Member Grade: 7 Years in FIRST: 1 Favorite memory: "Robotnado tragedy of 2026" Reason you joined: "I like ✨power tools✨" Daniel Schabilion Role: Build lead Grade: 12 Years in FIRST: 4 Favorite memory: "First time Autos worked on Tater Swift" Reason you joined: "Meet cool people and build cool robots!" Claire Crum Role: Safety Captain Grade: 10 Years in FIRST: 4 Favorite memory: "Robotnado tragedy of 2026" Reason you joined: "Jacob signed up for this and I thought why not, now I'm here." Tom Larson Role: Build Member Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 1 Favorite memory: "When Logan dropped the doohickey" Reason you joined: "Logan bugging me" Logan Lundt Role: Build Member Grade: 8 Years in FIRST: 2 Favorite memory: "staying up late to work on the bot" Reason you joined: "I like nerd stuff" Wes Johnson Role: Programmer Grade: 7 Years in FIRST: 1 Favorite memory: "Robotnado tragedy of 2026" Reason you joined: "Because Theo told me to" Julian Wiggins Role: Build Member Grade: 7 Years in FIRST: 1 Favorite memory: "Using the table saw" Reason you joined: "because I want to learn how to build a robot" Mentors + Coaches Our mentors help to oversee the team to make sure that our team is always going in the right direction. They also help guide our students by helping them find their full potential. Ben Lauderbaugh Role: Coach Years in FIRST: Favorite memory: "" Reason you joined: "" Cayla Lauderbaugh Role: Coach Years in FIRST: 4 Favorite memory: "Watching the students learn and grow...and the late night robotics laughter and shenanigans because we are all tired but have a deadline to meet." Reason you joined: "To help my husband coach because nobody else wanted the job and I was already doing everything he couldn't at home to help out anyway." Craig Starr Role: Fabrication Mentor Years in FIRST: Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------" Scott Role: Fabrication mentor Years in FIRST: ------ Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------" Bret Lauderbaugh Role: Fabrication Mentor Years in FIRST: Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------" Ian Anderson Role: Alumini Programing Mentor Years in FIRST: 5 Favorite memory: " " Reason you joined: "" Bob Role: ------ Years in FIRST: ------ Favorite memory: "------" Reason you joined: "------"

Our sponsors are the engine of our team, without funds we couldn't do anything. Our Sponsors Our sponsors are the backbone to our team. Without the funding they provide 6709 S.P.U.D. INC, we would not be where we are now. We are grateful for our gracious sponsors.

See whats going on for fundraisers and outreaches here from 6709 S.P.U.D. Inc Robotics. Events Below you can see all of our Fundraisers and Community events. Come see us and ask questions about our team. We appreciate everyone that has helped support us by visiting us at these events. Conference Championship Our team will be hosting the annual Conference Championship Date: October 12 Location: Big Lake High School

TaterTanker is our 2026 Rebuilt Robot. Built with MK4i Swerve. Shooter powered by 2 Kraken X60's. An extendable hopper. and a 20" swing down intake. TATER TANKER REBUILT ROBOT Information Dimensions: 26"x26"x22". Drive Train: MK4i with L3+ gear ratio running on Kraken X60's. Statbotics info Robot Upgrades Manipulators Hood Shooter - Turret Shooter: 2 x Kraken X60's, 4" diameter fly wheel, gears on each end for additional weight, hooded Turret: 1 x Falcon 500, 180°, cable chain Flip Down Intake Kraken 500, three bar, 2 inch diameter compliance wheels, 20" width. flip down, Spindexer 1 x Falcon500 mounted in the PLA cone, Five slots, fixed broom brushes Extended Hopper Extends the 11", and retracts via bungees from intake Tater Tanker Upgrades TaterTanker Upgrades Our team did a SWOT analysis on TaterTanker and has begun making various upgrades to various manipulators. Our overall objective is to improve our Intake>Hopper>Spindexer>Shooter throughput. Intake (finished) - Removed the top roller bar allowing for space in hopper and less motor stalls We'll be doing more work on our hopper, spindexer, and shooter designs in the next week. Programming Our team programs with Java. We also use PathPlanner, MotionMajic and some other programming assistants. Autos Left & Right autos: Shoot the 8 balls, go out to the center and grab more, go back and score. (All under the trench) Middle auto: Score the 8 balls Upgrades before Granite City Regional (April 8th) Our team is working on a couple different things to upgrade ourselves before Granite City. Shuttle balls from the center, maybe as well the opposing alliances side. Drive and shoot, our goal is to not only shuttle balls while driving, but to also drive and score fuel.

Programming This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Click Here Section Title Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Section Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Slide Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content.

Divisions This is your Services Page. It's a great opportunity to provide information about the services you provide. Double click on the text box to start editing your content and make sure to add all the relevant details you want to share with site visitors. Fabrication Build The Build subdivision is responsible for building the robot, field pieces, and other equipment that is necessary to be ready for competition. Programming Programming subdivision programs the robot to complete the functions it needs to complete. Programming team uses the Java programming Language. They also use visions systems to assist the drive team. Electrical The Electrical subdivision works side by side with the team to wire up the robot. Our team strives to use the most updated technology. Safety Our team takes Safety seriously. Not just physically either, we make sure students are doing mentally. Our has individual safety glasses to ensure cleanliness. Business Marketing The Marketing subdivision creates the advertising materials. Marketing runs the social media accounts as well. Impact The Impact subdivision oversees the teams outreach events, team impact on the community, as well as communication with the community. Logistics Logistics maintains the organization of the team. They oversee team project management, making sure all our ducks are in a row. Scouting Scouting watches other teams and records details about their robot and team so that we can make an educated choice if we become part of an alliance and can choose another team to join us. Many Subdivisions, One Team Though our team works on separate subdivisions, we still work towards the same goal.

Marketing Marketing works on promoting our team through social media and related mediums. This website is designed by our marketing subdivision, from the pictures to the words written right here. You might see this group at events with a camera, recording the goings on for future use, or view our content(as seen right here). Click Here What Marketing is About The Marketing Subdivision works hard on getting our team out there with engaging content and informative advertisements so that Instagram Followers:

SPUD Stands for Service, Pride, Unity, Dedication. These are the four main core values our team has when operating. What is SPUD? SPUD is the acronym for our core values of our team. In our 2018 season, our team members created the SPUD acronym. Service This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Pride This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Unity This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start. Dedication This is your Project description. Provide a brief summary to help visitors understand the context and background of your work. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start.

What is Competition Our team commonly attends two competitions each year. Competition is the end goal in robotics, and it's what the students look forward to the most. The main events of competitions are usually on the weekends. Below are our two competitions this year. Lake Superior Regional We were excited to compete at the Lake Superior Regional in Duluth, MN at the end of February-early March! During competition, we ranked 23rd and were chosen as part of an alliance with team 2143(Team Tobor) and 5653(Iron Mosquitos). Even though we didn't win, it was a valuable learning experience and we enjoyed our time there. Granite City Regional We will participate in the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud, MN in early April.

Programming This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Click Here Section Title Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Small Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Section Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Slide Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content.

Build This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Click Here Parts of Build Metal Working This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Wood Working This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Electrical This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Design This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Section Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content and make sure to add any relevant details or information that you want to share with your visitors. Slide Title This is a Paragraph. Click on "Edit Text" or double click on the text box to start editing the content.

Our Team's Beginning Founders Our team was started by two students, Erik Poffenberger and Denton Eisenschenk, both of whom are now studying a type of Engineering. These students were in middle school when they created it with the guidance of the shop teacher, Mr. Hill. When Our team was created October of 2016. Year History Looking back on the timeline! 2017 Steamworks We got off to a great start! Our team ranked 5th place at the MN 10,00 Lakes Regional and formed an alliance with team 3007(Robotitans) and team 2581(Spartan Robotics). We later ranked 16th place at the MSHSL FIRST State Robotics Championship. 2018 Power Up Our team powered up our robot for our second season with several new additions to the team. Now a team of 15 students strong, we ranked 25th at the Medtronic Foundation Regional in Minneapolis. 2019 Destination: Deep Space We blasted off this season by growing to 25 students this year, and celebrated by investing in several large equipment upgrades. Our team ranked 46th in the Great Northern Regional and 56th in the Minnesota 10,000 Lakes Regional. 2020 Infinite Recharge 2020 greeted a team recharge, as the majority of our members joined this year. Unfortunately, this season was cut short and we did not have the chance to participate in any regionals. 2021 Infinite Recharge 2021 found our team participating in an online robotics challenge rather than an in-person competition. Only students that lettered the previous year were allowed to take part due to safety concerns, leaving only a few members on the team. 2022 Rapid React In 2022 we took off with Darth Tater and ranked 42nd at the Great Northern Regional during Week 4. This year was a lot of students' first competition due to the prior years being online. Our team took notice of this and made this a growing year. 2023 Charged Up The electrical energy and positive charge this season powered our robot, Waffle Fry, and marked another great season. At the North Star Regional in LaCrosse, we ranked 38th out of 39 teams. After a short recovery period, we participated in the 10,000 Lakes Regional and ranked 18th out of 61 teams. In addition, teams 7850(C.A.R.D.S.) and 4664(Butler Bots) chose us as alliance partners. 2024 Crescendo Our robot, Tater Swift, raised the volume of our performance to the next level. We ranked 17th at the Lake Superior Regional, then participated in St. Cloud’s very first Granite City Regional, ranking 15th place and joining teams 6749(tERAbytes) and 2549(Millerbots) in an alliance. 2025 Reefscape This our current year. Our team dived right into the Duluth Lake Superior Regional and, ranking 17th, joined teams 2143(Team Tobor) and 5653(Iron Mosquitos) in an alliance. We will later compete at St. Cloud Granite City Regional. Robot History Robot History 6709 S.P.U.D. INC has had many different robots throughout our history, all different from the others. All known robot names also have a potato theme. 2017 - Steamworks NA 2018 - PowerUp NA 2019 - Deep Space NA 2019 - Outreach Bot Tatertot 2020 - Infinite Recharge NA 2021 - Infinite Recharge Tater Tantrum 2022 - Rapid React Darth Tater 2023 - SpudFest parade Spuddles 2023 - Charged Up WaffleFry 2024 - Crescendo Tater Swift 2024 - SpudFest Parade Sweet Potato 2025 - Reefscape SPUDMARINE 2025 - Reefscape JV Chrispyfry 2026 - Rebuilt TaterTanker