In only their first year and in their first competition – ever – the Paint Creek Elementary Robodragons Robotics team raised a trophy and gained a lot of momentum heading into the future.

“Our 4th and 5th grade Paint Creek Robotics team took home a 2nd place trophy in the FIRST Lego League Challenge Core Values portion of the Armada Automation competition,” said co-coach Terri Geese.

The Paint Creek Robotics team is made up of fourth and fifth grade students: fourth graders Amin Chang and Elowen Charnesky and fifth graders Ely Chang, Carson Geese, Charlie Mitra, Justin Podina, Logan Przybyl and Max Stamper.

According to the FIRST Lego League, the Core Values Award-winning teams display “extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit, know they can accomplish more together than they could as individuals and show each other and other teams respect at all times.”

The team worked together to design a robot to compete in the robot game matches, develop and present an innovation project idea and demonstrate exceptional performance of the six FIRST Lego League core values – discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun.

“As coaches, Brandon Charnesky and I are incredibly proud of our team and wanted to share the great news with you,” Geese said. – J.N.