HANCOCK COUNTY — The 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship, presented by the Northrop Grumman Foundation, just wrapped up this week at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
The annual event brought together the top VEX IQ, VEX and VEX U Robotics Competition teams from around the globe to celebrate their accomplishments and be crowned champions at the world level.
Several teams from Hancock County qualified for the robotic competition and made the trip to Dallas to compete.
New Palestine High School (NPHS) Robotics Teams had a historic run this year, team leader Dave Post said. Four teams qualified for the Robotics World Championship — 99904B (Boogie Woogie), 99904E (I’m a Banana), 99904W (Wooosh), and 99904X (X3V).
Post, a teacher, noted the students from NPHS made their mark on the global stage alongside competition representing 800 teams from 60 different countries.
State Champion Boogie Woogie (99904B) and Wooosh (99904W), a State Division Semi-Finalist, each finished as Division Finalists at the World Championship, both securing spots in the Top 20 alliances and Top 40 teams in the world.
“Boogie Woogie and Wooosh both had the highest finishes at World Competition in the history of the NPHS Robotics Program,” Post said.
The youngest NPHS team to compete at Worlds this year was group called “I’m a Banana” (99904E).
“They showcased remarkable skill and advanced to the quarterfinals,” Post said. “Team “I’m a Banana” is comprised of an eighth grader, three freshmen and a sophomore.”
Team 99904X (X3V) concluded its run in 2024 World Competition in an elimination round of 16 in their division.
In all five seniors made their final appearances at the VEX Robotics World Championship while Post, who is retiring after the school year, made his final appearance at the world championship this year as the program’s head coach.
Elsewhere from around the county, team “Dysfunctional” from Greenfield-Central High School qualified for Worlds along with teams Fibonacci and Exothermic. The Daily Reporter reached out to their coach to see how the teams did but did not hear back by press time.
The lone middle school team to qualify was “Glow Botz” from New Palestine Junior High School whose results were not posted yet. The other county teams that won at state and qualified to compete at the World Championships included an elementary team called Pokébots from the Montessori Science Academy, New Palestine; The Flying Pigs from New Palestine Intermediate School, and The Floating Hotdogs from the School of Hard Knocks in Greenfield. Results from their competition were not posted by print deadline.
