Podcast 343 – Wildcat5e Robotics Opens St. Luke’s Pumpkin Patch This Week – Lars Dike & Izzy Grant

Wildcat5e Robotics Opens St. Luke’s Pumpkin Patch This Week

Lars Dike and Izzy Grant of Wildcat5e, Dunwoody High School’s robotics team, joined me to talk robots, the Dunwoody pumpkin patch, and even a little DHS Band. The patch at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church opens Tuesday, October 6, with 3,000+ pumpkins, and every one you buy helps a team fund their robot and travel.

In This Episode

• Wildcat5e, FRC Team 6705, is Dunwoody High School’s robotics team, with a few Chamblee High School students, and it builds at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church.
• The Dunwoody pumpkin patch at St. Luke’s runs October 6th to 31st, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, at 1978 Mount Vernon Road.
• FIRST Robotics Competition teams get a new game every January and six weeks to build, test, and program a robot.
• Wildcat5e finished 15th in the district, made the Georgia state championship, and missed Worlds in Houston by one spot.
• Lars Dike and Izzy Grant also play in the Dunwoody High School Marching Band, whose 2026 halftime show is called “Feeling Good.”

A Sunday Morning After Dunwoody High Homecoming

We recorded this one at 8:30am on a Sunday morning. Homecoming was the night before. Not the ideal time I thought they would have chose, but I loved having my nephew on the pod, so that’s what we did. When I asked Lars what his house was like, he said there were three guys passed out in his basement, and he had downed a few cups of coffee.

Lars’s dad, Justin Dike, started this podcast with me in 2018. Justin is probably the reason it exists. I wouldn’t have ever done it by myself.

So before we talked robotics, I had to embarrass Lars a little.

About six years ago, when Lars was 9 or 10, he left the podcast an Apple Podcasts review, which we were asking for at the beginning of the podcast. The title was “I’m Justin’s son hi dad and uncle Matt” Then it got even weirder.

Five stars, by the way. I think it’s one of the greatest reviews we’ve ever gotten. Lars was less excited about me reading it on the air, but I thought it was hilarious. His explanation? “Perhaps I was illiterate at that time in my life.”

It’s also been about six years since a family member came on the show. The last time, my wife Sasha and Lars’s stepmom Rachel Dike were on with Justin, and I barely got a word in. So thanks for letting me talk, Lars.

What Is Wildcat5e, Dunwoody High’s Robotics Team?

Izzy Grant is Wildcat5e’s Business and Media Lead. She runs the team Instagram and handles recruiting. She’s also on the mechanical team.

Wildcat5e is FRC Team 6705. FRC stands for FIRST Robotics Competition. GeorgiaFIRST calls it the “Sport for the Mind.” High school teams raise their own money, build a brand, and design industrial-size robots to play a field game against other teams.

The team is semi-based out of Dunwoody High School. A few Chamblee High School students are on it too, since Chamblee joined about two years ago. That’s why you’ll see “Dunwoody & Chamblee High Schools’ Robotics Team” on the flyer.

Here’s the part I love. The team doesn’t actually build at the school. St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church on Mount Vernon Road is nice enough to host them, and that’s where the robot comes together.

When we did Episode 305 last year, I talked with team leader Emmy Knight and parent volunteer my friend Paige Holliman. They knew their stuff. This time I wanted the students’ side of it, and Lars and Izzy delivered.

How Does a FIRST Robotics Competition Season Work?

Every January, FIRST releases a brand new game. Nobody knows what it’ll be until kickoff. This season, teams find out on January 9.

The 2026 game was called REBUILT. Robots intake balls and shoot them into a central hub. The more balls you score, the more points you get.

Matches are 3 vs. 3. You get paired randomly with two other teams, so you’re working with robots you’ve never seen before. Strategy matters. If your robot doesn’t have a great shooter, you might go play defense and stop the other side from intaking or shooting.

I’ll admit, the last time we did a robotics show, I was picturing BattleBots. These robots don’t fight. They’re solving a problem on a field, and they’re bigger than I imagined as well.

After kickoff, the team has six weeks to build, test, and program the robot before the first competition. Lars called it “lock-in time.” They’re at the build site for countless hours, into the night, trying to get the robot ready.

Then come two competitions on weekends in March and April. How you do there decides whether you go on to the state championship.

Why Does Every Robot Look Different?

I asked if all the robots look the same. Not even close.

At one competition, one team’s robot wasn’t finished, so it was just completely flat. Lars described another one that extended up and had a net on it. It was wild.

There’s so much creativity in every team. Sometimes between competitions, you see something good and want it on your own robot.

“We copied the net,” Lars said.

“Yes, we did copy the net,” Izzy confirmed.

I respect it. Good ideas are good ideas, and sometimes you have to “borrow” those ideas.

Before the real robot gets built, the freshmen build practice game pieces out of wood in the shop, like the hub the robot shoots into. That gives everyone something to practice on early.

Testing is tricky. The ceiling at the build site was too low to shoot balls into the hub, so last year they used the St. Luke’s gym. Some high schools also host open Saturdays where teams come practice on their field. A lot of teams don’t have a place to test, so that matters.

This season they also need a new driver. Last year’s driver was a senior who graduated. A few contenders have been practicing in the offseason, and it’s often someone from programming.

I asked Lars, any chance it’s you? “Probably not. More of a mechanic.”

When Does the Dunwoody Pumpkin Patch Open?

This is the big call to action. The Dunwoody pumpkin patch at St. Luke’s opens Tuesday, October 6, and runs through October 31, or until they sell out.

You’ve seen it. St. Luke’s sits right on Mount Vernon Road, and every October that lawn turns orange. It’s a huge pumpkin patch in front of a beautiful church, and you drive past it every time you go down Mount Vernon.

Here’s what you need to know:

• When: October 6 to 31, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily
• Where: St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody, GA
• What: 3,000+ pumpkins in all sizes, shapes, and colors
• Also: bounce house, arts and crafts, face painting, games, and photo ops
• Who it helps: Wildcat5e, Dunwoody’s robotics team

Izzy explained where the pumpkins come from. They’re grown on a Navajo farm in New Mexico and show up on a huge semi-truck. Then the team has to unload every single one. “Which will be a fun time,” she said.

Parents and robotics students sign up for shifts to staff the patch. Volunteering isn’t technically required, but it’s strongly encouraged, and students earn volunteer hours.

So if you need a pumpkin this year, and you do, get it here. NO GROCERY STORE PUMPKINS!

Why the Dunwoody Pumpkin Patch Pays for Everything

I asked where the money comes from. The answer was simple. Mainly, it’s the Dunwoody pumpkin patch.

Robotics is a pretty expensive club to keep running. On Episode 305, Paige Holliman estimated the team would spend nearly $50,000 in a season on parts, tools, and materials. If a team makes Worlds, the entry fee alone tops $10,000.

The rest comes from sponsors. Izzy’s business and media team goes out and finds them. Local companies sponsor meals at competitions, supplies, or really anything the team needs.

I gave them the chance to make the pitch, and they kept it simple. Meals for competitions are great, “but also just like anything helps, any money helps.”

If you own a Dunwoody business, this is about as good a local cause as it gets. You’re backing kids who stay up past midnight building robots. Reach out to the team at frc@wildcat5e.com.

And if you don’t own a business? Buy a pumpkin. Buy three. I’m serious.

How Close Did Wildcat5e Get to Worlds?

Close. Really close.

By the end of last season, Wildcat5e was ranked 15th in the whole district. The team qualified for the Georgia state championship, officially the Peachtree District Championship. From there, only 13 Georgia teams advance to the FIRST Championship, better known as Worlds, in Houston, Texas.

Wildcat5e finished one spot away.

It was sad to miss it. But it’s the farthest the team has gotten in years, and you could hear how proud they are of that season.

This year, the goal is Houston. “I’m confident in our team. I think we can do it.”

Making Worlds would mean raising even more money, so every pumpkin really does count. I’m rooting for them, and I hope I’m writing a post about Wildcat5e in Houston next spring.

Who Leads Wildcat5e for the 2026-27 Season?

The team splits into subteams, and each one has a student lead.

Lars works on the programming side. The Programming Lead is Tommy Liang. “We spent countless hours in a room with the robot, just hacking at it,” Lars said.

Electrical is what it sounds like. They wire the robot, much of it near the end of the building season. Genevieve Geist leads that group.

Mechanical is the one everyone loves, because it’s building the robot itself. A lot of students took engineering in middle school and want to keep going. Andrew Ahn leads mechanical.

Then there’s business and media, which Izzy runs. That’s sponsors, outreach, social media, and recruiting.

Here’s the full 2026-27 Wildcat5e leadership team:

• President: Kole Fluellen
• Vice President: Jackson Holliman
• Mechanical Lead: Andrew Ahn
• Electrical Lead: Genevieve Geist
• Programming Lead: Tommy Liang
• Business/Media Lead: Izzy Grant

The whole thing is student-led. That’s what impresses me most.

What’s It Like in the Dunwoody High School Marching Band?

Robotics isn’t the only thing keeping these two busy. Lars and Izzy are both in the Dunwoody High School Marching Band, which practices every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, plus competitions.

At football games, you’ll find them in the stands. Izzy is in the front ensemble and plays cymbals in the stands. Lars plays the bass drum, the second biggest one, which they consider one of the best instruments in the band.

Every marching band member also plays in the stands band. A handful of extras play only in the stands and skip the halftime show, so the stands band is a little bigger.

This season’s halftime show is called “Feeling Good.” It has four movements:

• “Feeling Good,” made famous by Michael Bublé
• “Mr. Blue Sky”
• “Joy to the World” (the “Jeremiah was a bullfrog” one, not the Christmas carol)
• A fake-out ending, then “Feeling Good” again as an encore

The stands band plays different songs. I’ve heard “Seven Nation Army” in there, along with a few that take a minute to recognize.

If you’re at a Wildcats football game this fall, stay in your seat at halftime.

How Can Your Student Join Wildcat5e?

This one’s a little selfish. My son Micah is coming up, and I’d love to see him on this team. With two kids, I’m going to be around Dunwoody High School for the next eight years, so I want to know it inside and out. That’s a big reason I love having students on the show.

The build site at St. Luke’s is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 4 to 6 p.m. There are always veteran members there to teach new kids and show them last season’s robot. “We love new people and getting everyone involved.”

The team also just held an open house, and Izzy posts updates on the team Instagram.

If you’re moving to Dunwoody with a kid who likes building things, coding, wiring, or marketing, this is a great place to plug in. And if you’re living in Dunwoody already, the easiest first step is the Dunwoody pumpkin patch. Say hi, ask questions, and buy a pumpkin.

I told Izzy to send me what she’s posting. I know how hard it is to get people’s attention, and I’ll help however I can.

Connect with Wildcat5e Robotics

• Dunwoody pumpkin patch: October 6 to 31, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 1978 Mount Vernon Road, Dunwoody
• Build site: open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 4 to 6 p.m., at St. Luke’s
• Interest form for students: forms.gle/R1ezewqGiA4TrzFSA
• Instagram: @frc6705
• Website: wildcat5e.com
• Email (sponsors and questions): frc@wildcat5e.com

Thanks to Lars and Izzy for showing up early on a Sunday after homecoming. That’s dedication.

What Is What’s Up Dunwoody?

What’s Up Dunwoody is a local media platform created by REALTOR® Matt Weber, focused on living in Dunwoody, moving to Dunwoody, and staying connected to the community. It began as a podcast and has grown into social media content, local guides, and two of the largest Dunwoody-focused Facebook groups where residents share recommendations and stay in the loop. Matt has expanded slightly outside of Dunwoody and now covers the entire top end of the Perimeter through his Top End ATL channels.

Matt is a Dunwoody REALTOR® who helps people navigate buying, selling, and moving in the area. Stay in the loop with local updates, listings, and insights by signing up here: whatsupdunwoody.com/emaill

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