The Krypton Cougars, a high school robotics team composed of students from the Hershey and Palmyra region, placed first at the 2023 FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Mid-Atlantic District competition at Hatboro-Horsham High School in Horsham on March 4 and 5. During this FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) event, the Krypton Cougars - FRC Team 2539 - competed against other high school teams from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

The team got off to a slow start in the first match after a robotic arm failure, but the Cougars quickly turned things around to win 10 out of 12 of its qualifier matches, securing its place as the No. 1 alliance team captain. As No. 1 alliance captain, the team won the privilege of the first pick for the three-robot alliance, which subsequently competed against seven other three-robot alliances during the Sunday championship series. The Cougars' alliance dominated the series, winning all of its playoff matches.

In the first match of the finals round, a "best two out of three" series, the Cougars' alliance experienced its first loss of the championship series. However, the team won the second match by a landslide and almost secured the world record score for this year's competition. The final score of 163 to 108 was the third-highest score in the world. The third match of the finals series started poorly when two game pieces failed to score during the autonomous period of the game, the first 15 seconds, during which the robot functions fully on its own with no human intervention. The Cougars' alliance quickly made up the lost points and dominated with a 153 to 142 score.

Not only did the win give the Krypton Cougars its first-ever Blue Banner as an alliance captain during an in-season event, but the team's performance also gave it the 15th-highest offensive power ranking out of the approximately 1,000 currently ranked teams around the world. The team finished the weekend with a combined record of 15-3 plus the Excellence in Engineering award for its aesthetically pleasing, well-designed robot. The Krypton Cougars also gained enough ranking points to secure a spot in the 60-team District Championship at Lehigh University from April 6 to 8.

The Krypton Cougars will continue to improve its robot at its build site at 30 E. Granada Ave., Hershey, to prepare for its next competition. This event will take place at Springside Chestnut Hill from Friday to Sunday, March 17 to 19.