ABOUT MENTORS | FRC 4143

Design/Build System

Travis Barnes

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Travis joined MARS/WARS because of his interest in the program and his son joining. He is always interested in helping out the team. He grew up in rural southeast Colorado and he went to a small school with less than 100 students K-12.

Year Became a Mentor: 2023
Expertise: Controls for engine, woods and metal working
First involved in FRC: 2024
Why FRC: It was something he was interested in, and his son was in robotics last year
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Kansas State University

Design/Build System Mentor

Evan Charlier

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Evan, an alumni of the team, became a MARS/WARS mentor because of his passion for engineering and his desire to inspire students. When he's not busy helping the team, he enjoys riding a one-wheel for fun.

Year Became a Mentor: 2025
Expertise: Mechanical and Design
First involved in FRC: 2016
Why FRC: It was fun and engineering is fun.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Iowa State

Design/Build System Mentor

Jim Ditillo

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Jim joined MARS/WARS in our inaugural season to give back to the community and help students learn new things. He always ensures that students have fun while learning. In his free time, Jim enjoys biking and going on RV camping trips.

Year Became a Mentor: 2012
Expertise: Mechanical Engineering
First involved in FRC: 2012
Why FRC: A way to give back to the community. He wanted to help students learn new things.
Employer: Retired from Caterpillar
College: Bradley University

Design/Build System Mentor

Jason Friedlund

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Jason joined MARS/WARS due to his passion for robotics, which was sparked by his college experiences. He always ensures that students stay focused on the task at hand. Jason was a Boy Scout leader for 12 years and participated in robotics competitions during college.

Year Became a Mentor: 2023
Expertise: Electrical
First involved in FRC: 2023
Why FRC: He did competition robotics in college. Robots are fun.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Design/Build System Mentor

Mike Laming

Mike joined MARS/WARS due to his passion for STEM and his desire to support the team. In addition to mentoring for the team, Mike has served as the Scout Master of Troop 64 and designed the rear axle for his truck.

Year Became a Mentor: 2025
Expertise: Mechanical Engineering
First involved in FRC: 2025
Why FRC: He enjoys STEM and his son is interested in FRC. He wants to help the team.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Michigan Technological University

Design/Build System Mentor

Steve Landau

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Steve joined MARS/WARS because he found it exciting when his son was on the team and wanted to help inspire future students. He is always encouraging to the students and is a lead mentor for the JV team. Steve spends his spare time flying drones as a licensed commercial drone pilot.

Year Became a Mentor: 2018
Expertise: Mechanical Design
First involved in FRC: 2018
Why FRC: His son was in MARS/WARS, and he thought it was exciting.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: University of Wisconsin in Platteville

Design/Build System Mentor

Kyle Matthews

Kyle joined MARS/WARS because of his interest in building parts and thought it was fun. He used to be part of the team 2338 - Gear It Forward. He also met Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers.

Year Became a Mentor: 2023
Expertise: Mechanical
First involved in FRC: 2014
Why FRC: He is interested in making things and thought it was fun.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Northern Illinois University

Design/Build System Mentor

Kevin Meyer

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Kevin joined MARS/WARS in our inaugural season when his son joined the team. Since then, he has mentored all three of his children on the team. Kevin possesses excellent leadership skills and plays a key role in leading the design and construction of the robot. He has been the drive team coach since 2019.

Year Became a Mentor: 2012
Expertise: Mechanical Design
First involved in FRC: 2012
Why FRC: His son was a freshman when MARS/WARS started.
Employer: Retired from Caterpillar
College: University of Illinois

Design/Build System Mentor and Drive Team Coach

Otto Rajtora

Otto joined MARS/WARS because he enjoys problem solving. He is focused on the task on hand and doesn't tolerate goofing off. He went to Charged Up FRC world championship once as a spectator. He went a second time as a mentor on the team during the CRESCENDO season.

Year Became a Mentor: 2024
Expertise: Engineering
First involved in FRC: 2023
Why FRC: He enjoys problem solving.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Missouri S&T

Design/Build System Mentor

John Schaffer

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John joined MARS/WARS after watching his son learn and grow because of the program. He wants to inspire students to continue to learn. He is the only engineer in his family.

Year Became a Mentor: 2025
Expertise: Quality Engineering
First involved in FRC: 2021
Why FRC: It was a good program for his son and he wants to help students learn in the Robotics/STEAM area.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Illinois Central College

Design/Build System Mentor

Ryan Shoff

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Ryan joined MARS/WARS in our inaugural season and is Co-Head Coach for the team. His interest in robotics and his passion to teach and inspire students has been a foundation that the team has been built on. In addition to mentoring for MARS/WARS, he helped start FLL teams in Metamora and has had his 2 children involved in the program. When he isn't busy thinking about robotics, he enjoys flying his plane.

Year Became a Mentor: 2012
Expertise: Little of Everything
First involved in FRC: 2012
Why FRC: One of the teachers who started MARS/WARS asked if he would like to be a sponsor and help with robotics.
Employer: Metamora Industries
College: University of Illinois

Design/Build System Mentor and Co-Head Mentor

Brian Stoecker

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Brian is a teacher at MTHS and the head coach for MARS/WARS. He helps lead our Design-Build Systems sub team by helping our students learn. He loves to socialize with students during the competitions and encourage the team with his cheering. He is also the model for the team's mascot.

Year Became a Mentor: 2013
Expertise: Team management and Modeling
First involved in FRC: 2013
Why FRC: It fits what he teaches.
Employer: MTHS
College: Illinois Central College, Illinois State University and Concordia

Design/Build System Mentor and Co-Head Mentor

Ray Tealby

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Ray joined MARS/WARS during our inaugural season because his son joined the team and he wanted to be able to hang out with him. He encourages the team and spends most of his time helping the students learn and focus on the task ahead. Ray became a pit announcer in 2015 for Central Illinois Regional.

Year Became a Mentor: 2012
Expertise: Sarcasm
First involved in FRC: 2012
Why FRC: He wanted to hang out with his son.
Employer: Retired from Caterpillar
College: Illinois Central College

Design/Build System Mentor

Software Systems

Lane Hess

Lane, an alumni of the team, who came back to help the team. He helps the team with programming and electrical. He is currently involved with LAN club for MTHS. Lane comes from a history of giving back to the MARS/WARS team, both of his parents mentored for the team as well.

Year Became a Mentor: 2023
Expertise: Electrical Software
First involved in FRC: 2014
Why FRC: His babysitter was a member of MARS/WARS, and he used to watch the matches. He was part of the FLL Monkey Wrenches.
Employer: Parker Hannifin

Software Systems Mentor

Cole Hunt

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Cole, an alumni of the team, returned to MARS/WARS after graduating. Cole's passion for FIRST and inspiring future generations is evident in his commitment to the team and the students in the program. In addition to being a Software Systems Mentor, Cole is very involved in analyzing scouting data and alliance selection. Cole was a driver for the MARS/WARS team.

Year Became a Mentor: 2020
Expertise: Controls Engineering
First Involved in FRC: 2014
Why FRC: He likes solving problems and teaching.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Iowa State University

Software Systems Mentor

Joe Tauke

Joe joined MARS/WARS because he wanted to help expand interest in STEM. Another reason he joined was he likes teaching others about the subject. His son is currently on the team. When he has free time, he likes to play with cars and admire them.

Year Became a Mentor: 2025
Expertise: Information Technology
First Involved in FRC: 2021
Why FRC: He likes to help expand the interest in STEM. He really likes it and likes teaching others about it
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Clark College

Software Systems Mentor

Cole Tucker

Cole started his FRC career with team 4145 WorBots, during college Cole mentored for his team. He then chose to join our team in 2023. Cole joined MARS/WARS for the excitement of the competitions and to help the students learn. He has a fun side to him but makes sure the students focus on the tasks at hand. He has worked on 31-32 robotic platforms.

Year Became a Mentor: 2018
Expertise: Autonomy Engineering
First involved in FRC: 2014
Why FRC: He had seen what the local team was doing and thought it was cool.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Ohio State University

Software Systems Mentor

Business Services

Darcy Hunt

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Darcy joined MARS/WARS to help after she saw what the program offered students. She became interested in FRC because of her kids being in the program. In 2020, she restarted the Business Services group helping to organize the outreach program, open houses and various fundraisers and has helped to cement the team's presence within the community. Over the years, she has watched both her children compete on the drive team.

Year Became a Mentor: 2020
Expertise: Organization
First involved in FRC: 2015
Why FRC: She had kids that were involved, and she saw what the program had to offer students.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: Eastern Washington University

Business Services Mentor

Crystal Rajtora

Crystal joined MARS/WARS team because of the family on the team. It is a family affair for Crystal, she has two sons on the team and her husband is also a mentor. She helps the Business Services sub team and helps to create swag for the team. She met her husband at college while she was cheerleading.

Year Became a Mentor: 2025
Expertise: Information science and technology
First involved in FRC: 2025
Why FRC: Family on the team
Employer: Professional volunteer/ used to work at PetSmart.
College: Missouri S&T

Business Services Mentor

Ben Short

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Ben joined MARS/WARS to help out his son and other students to learn. He helped kick start our scouting section of the team growing this important piece of strategy and helping to ensure accurate data in an easily accessible format. In addition to his time with the MARS/WARS team, Ben has also been a mentor for the Metamora FLL teams for 8 seasons.

Year Became a Mentor: 2020
Expertise: Scouting/Business Services
First involved in FRC: 2015
Why FRC: He was involved in FLL. His son moved up to FRC. He likes helping students learn.
Employer: Caterpillar
College: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Scouting/ Business Services Mentor

Kelly Stoecker

Kelly joined MARS/WARS at the urging of her husband. She is responsible for the team's finances and many other organizational needs of the team. Kelly has had 2 kids involved in the team and has been to both Detroit and Houston with the team for FRC Championships.

Year Became a Mentor: 2016
Expertise: Finance
First involved in FRC: 2016
Why FRC: She was recruited by husband.
Employer: EFE 200
College: Illinois Central College

General Mentor / Finance