Published May 17, 2022

Brentwood Middle robotics students were among the best at the VEX World Championship in Dallas.

Team Mad Scientists, made up of BMS eighth-graders Connor Harris, Colt King and Austin Schul, and Team Kermit the Frooge, which includes seventh-graders Neel Inavolu and Cameron Work, were division finalists. At the finals, Connor, Colt and Austin ranked fourth and received the Judges Award in the Research Division. Neel and Cameron ranked sixth in the Science Division.

"These students did an outstanding job at the competition," said BMS robotics teacher Debra Schaefer. "The students formed alliances with teams from around the nation as well as Canada, Finland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. This was a great opportunity for them."

There were nearly 800 teams in attendance at the competition and 78-79 teams in each division. During qualifying matches, two BMS teams ranked in the top eight; two teams were within the top 25; and one team placed 38th. Only the top 20 teams advanced to the division finals.

In addition to the teams listed above, the following WCS students also participated in the division finals and ranked eighth in the Technology Division: Nikhil Inavolu, Brentwood Middle; Kesh Patel, Brentwood Middle; Preetham Dyapa, Sunset Middle; Vihaan Bussa, Woodland Middle; and Teddy Alapati, Clovercroft Elementary.