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Though they were rookies, the Tyee Middle School robotics team brought the thunder at their state championships, earning the highest score in their final match and besting dozens of teams from across the state.

The team, named Robo Thunder, competed for the first time in Washington FIRST Tech Challenge on Jan. 30 in Kent. After a tense competition, they emerged as the 2016 state champions.

Robo Thunder competed against the top 32 teams in the state.

They narrowly bested three other robots by four points during the second-to-last match, in which their robot had to climb a steep mountain ramp, rescue “climbers” and then hang from a bar at the top of the mountain. They secured their victory during the final match with a score of 268— the highest in the competition.

Team members Nathaniel Chang, Ashley Mead, Diana Ouyang, Alex Qiu, Everett Rendon, Katrina Rowland, Acchin Thev and Hannah Wang are all in the seventh or eighth grades at Tyee. For comparision, most of the 122 FIRST Tech robotics teams in the state consist of high schoolers who have competed in the past, according to Tanya Mead, head coach of the Tyee team.

The FIRST Tech Challenge helps students develop STEM skills and practice engineering principles (such as keeping an engineering notebook), while realizing the value of hard work, innovation and sharing ideas, according to organizers.

Teams of 10 or more members from grades seven through 12 must design, build, program and operate robots during a floor competition. During the entire process, they are guided by adult coaches and mentors.

Robo Thunder will now join eight other teams from around the state at the “super-regional” tournament in March in California.

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