Morrow County Middle School Robotics Team Heads to International Competition

A middle school robotics team from Morrow County is preparing to participate in an international contest next month.

The five students from Highland Middle School secured their spot in the 2025 World VEX Robotics Competition after claiming victory in the state championships held in March.

VEX Robotics aims to equip students with the skills needed to be future innovators. The program reports that 95% of its participants later embarked on careers in STEM fields.

The robotics squad known as 6390F is set to compete from May 9-11 in Dallas.

The team comprises five eighth graders: Aidan Mounts, Bentley Getter, Digory Richards, Gannon Fitzpatrick, and Tyler Tack.

Collectively, they have claimed victory in six out of their nine competitions this season and have received four "Excellence Awards."

"This group of students has been the most dedicated during my tenure as coach over these past seven years at Highland Middle School. Their commitment and perseverance enabled them to claim the state championship title. Last May, they meticulously created a robot using CAD software even before receiving approval to begin construction. Each day following classes, they remained for one extra hour solely focused on advancing their robotic project. It’s incredibly rewarding witnessing how all their efforts culminated into this opportunity to represent us in Dallas," stated Coach Chad Russell.

Richards mentioned they entered the field of robotics for enjoyment back last year.

Richards mentioned, "We delved deeper into it, and particularly at the start of this season, we began noticing that we were performing better than expected and improving steadily. This realization has been incredibly motivating, making us eager to pursue it further. It’s encouraging to witness your own success."

Next month, the squad will go up against teams representing 60 different nations.