Three MPS students ranked No.1 at the regional VEX IQ tournament that was held at Bankhead Middle School last Saturday. Abraham Yang (7th grade/Baldwin), Johanna Yang (4th grade/Forest Avenue) and Elijah Yang (2nd grade/Forest Avenue) – are siblings. They formed a VEX IQ competition team, Penguin Robotics (VIQC 1025A), and won three major awards – Robot Skills Champion Award (the highest robot driving/programing scores), Teamwork Champion Award (the highest tournament final scores) and Excellence Award (the most prestigious VEX Robotics award based on overall performance, dedication and the engineering notebook). With this, they earned a ticket to the State Championship which will be held at Auburn University on February 19.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity and immensely proud of Abraham, Johanna and Elijah. There was a setback but they persevered, pressed on and worked hard to come this far,” their coach and father, Soo Seok Yang, said.
“Seeing these penguins work together and practice every night with enthusiasm was in itself a joy and encouragement.”
Penguin Robotics shined throughout the tournament day not just by their performance but also by their conduct. They were the only team that was able to bring the practice field, and were not hesitant to share it with other teams who wanted to practice before going into the competition matches. Penguin Robotics (VIQC 1025A) is currently ranked No. 1 in the entire State of Alabama with the Skills score total of 91 and its world standing is at 115 out of 2,090 registered Middle School teams in the world. Abraham first joined robotics at Bear Elementary as a 5th grader and yearns to become an aerospace engineer or astronaut.
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