The Portage Porta-Botz! Robotics Organization is sending two teams to the VEX World Competition after a high school team won the state title and a middle school team was the state runner-up.
Portage sent a total of four high school and six middle school teams to the state competition at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on March 10. Of those ten teams, four middle school teams and three high school teams advanced from the qualification rounds to the elimination rounds.
The high school state champion team, Team 2567 X, consists of seniors Connor Edwards, Payton Bailey, Josh Meiss, Scott Watson and Niko Janes.
The middle school state runner-up team, Team 2567 K, consists of Reece Fischer, Ilija Kirov, Grant Kappes, and Trevor Young. This team also won the State Excellence Award and was recognized as the top middle school program in the state.
Edwards said his high school team’s day began by winning a difficult match in the qualifying rounds, but the team was uneasy after they lost a match they said they should have won. He said strategizing and making alliances during the elimination round is ultimately what led to the championship win.
Bailey said the team never imagined they could win the state championship. Watson compared the win, stating it felt like “Christmas morning for a little kid.”
“I never felt like a state championship was in our grasp, but obviously it was,” Watson said.
Middle school and high school head coach John Kappes said that the hardships his teams faced last year helped them realize what they needed to do this year to be successful.
“This success is based on last year’s experiences, and it’s vindicating,” Kappes said.
Both the high school and middle school teams will attend the VEX World Competition in Louisville on April 25-28.
Individuals or organizations who would like to sponsor the group’s trip to the World Competition may contact Kappes at john.kappes@portage.k12.in.us.