Austin Peay State University qualifies for Collegiate Drone Racing Nationals

Austin Peay State University (APSU)

Clarksville, TN – The Drone Club at Austin Peay has qualified for the Collegiate Drone Racing Association nationals – in the school’s first season of competitive racing – next month at the University of North Dakota.

Austin Peay State University is one of only 14 universities that has qualified for the event. Other qualifying schools include Ohio State University, Purdue University and Virginia Tech.

Only one other school in Tennessee, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has qualified.

The Drone Club’s lead pilot, Michael Hunter, will represent Austin Peay at the national competition April 13th-14th, 2019 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Hunter clocked in at just over 52 seconds on the February CDRA track, and that time qualified the team.

Hunter had been trying to qualify since the season started in October. His 52-second race happened on the day before the deadline.

“Being able to qualify for the first time ever, it was really hard to sleep that night because I waited until midnight just to see if anyone else submitted a better time,” Hunter said. “Once that midnight clock hit and I knew I was in position to qualify, I was really happy.

“The next morning, I texted (Drone Club adviser) Doug (Catellier) and said, ‘Hey, we made it!”