Orchard Hills wins robotics world title

A team of six students from Orchard Hills School has won the VEX Robotics World Championship – one of the largest robotics competitions in the world.

A team of six students from Orchard Hills School has won the VEX Robotics World Championship – one of the largest robotics competitions in the world.

The Robohawks were crowned the VRC Middle School World Champions among a field of 550 teams from 49 states and 36 countries competing at the championships in Dallas.

“I still cannot believe we won the world championship,” team member Iain Kim says. “It was a surreal experience that I will remember forever.”

When coach Megan Lund took over the program, robotics at Orchard Hills was an after-school club with 20 kids. Now, the program has become part of the class schedule and expanded to 65 students and 12 teams. More than 120 students in sixth through eighth grade applied to join the program this year.

The Robohawks consisted of Derrick Chen, Yunji Lee, Angel Cui, Anthony Low, Iain Kim and Shining Chen.

This was the fourth time Orchard Hills advanced to the world championship and the first time it won.