About Prairie Bytes (FTC Team 26858)

Prairie Bytes, FTC Team 26858, is a robotics team based in Terry, Montana. We’re a relatively new team — rookie year in 2024 — but we’ve already made a big impact. 

Our Mission & Vision

At Prairie Bytes, we believe in the transformative power of STEM education. Our goal is to inspire, challenge, and empower young minds in rural Montana through hands-on engineering, coding, and teamwork, and also to win. We strive to not only build competitive robots, but also to foster leadership, creativity, and a spirit of “coopertition” — learning from others while competing.

What We Do

• Design & Build: We conceptualize and build robots from scratch each season — from CAD to metal to motors.

• Programming: Our team writes autonomous and driver-controlled code, blending creativity with precision.

• Teamwork & Strategy: Every match involves strategy, communication, and collaboration. We learn together, win together, and grow together.

• Community Involvement: Even as a new team, we’re committed to outreach — sharing our journey, mentorship, and the excitement of robotics in our local community.

Our Achievements

In our very first season (2024):

• We competed in 3 official events. 

• We posted a qualification record of 12–3 and a strong overall record of 17–7. 

• At the Montana Championship, we were ranked 3rd out of 29. 

• We earned several awards, including the Control Award at our qualifier. 

• At the Carroll College Helena Qualifier, we were Alliance Captain for two picks. 

Why “Prairie Bytes”?

• Prairie reflects our roots in rural Montana — wide-open skies, a tight-knit community, and a deep connection to our land.

• Bytes nods to the digital world of coding, data, and robotics — combining the pastoral with the technical in a way that defines who we are.

Our Culture

• We are student-led, but mentored: driven by curiosity, but guided by experience.

• We value innovation, resilience, and winning.

• Mistakes are part of the journey: every failed design, broken part, or buggy code is a stepping stone to improvement.

Looking Forward

As Prairie Bytes continues to grow, we aim to:

• Scale our team — recruit more students, especially from underrepresented areas

• Build more advanced robots with better autonomy and mechanical sophistication

• Deepen our community engagement — host workshops, mentor younger STEM learners, and show how robotics can change lives

• Compete at higher levels and confidently represent Montana robotics on the bigger FIRST stage