SYRACUSE — Wawasee High School Robotics Club, Iron Pride, had a team qualify for the world championships. Team 574A, the Musketeers, of Conner Erlenwein, Taylor Large, Hunter Newlin, Braxton Oberg and Luke Tyler were among an alliance including Trinity Lutheran and Triton Central high schools to qualify for the world championships April 19-22 at Liberty Hall in Louisville, Ky.

The Indiana VEX Robotics State Championship was held Saturday, Feb. 25, in Zionsville.

Jed Wandland, robotics instructor for WHS, noted Wawasee was part of a third-ranked alliance defeating the first ranked alliance in the finals. “The final match was a real buzzer beater with teams waiting nervously while the score was triple checked by three different referees with no side being certain who had won,” he said. “After deliberation the referees unanimously declared that the score for the final match was 24-25 in a major upset.”

Team 574E Immortals of Cedric Church, Joe LeCount, Tim Michaels and Abdiel Sanchez also represented Wawasee in the quarterfinals. They were allied with teams from Horizon Christian and Franklin Central, both of Indianapolis.

Other teams representing Wawasee included 574C Spartan of Joe Kelsheimer, Micah Rassi and Nick Murphy; Team 574B Berserker of Madi McDonald, Jade Davidson, Ivy Rehborg and Sophie Miller; Team 574X Sphygmomanometer Kanagasabapathy of Mandi Hall, Sidney Smith, Chase Nave and Zach Avery; 574D Iron Knight of Braxton Studabaker, Jack Collins, Riley Halsey and Cory Dunivan; Team 574F Centurion of Hudson Bonner, Jossie Coy, Colten Edgar and Wesley Hays (all of Wawasee Middle School); and 574M Legends of Max Hurst, Emilia Layne, Conrad Foreman and Anthon Anker.

There will be 500 high school robotics teams from across the world at the world championships in Louisville.