The Eaglebots, a VEX Robotics team comprising Harker students, is off to a strong start with this year’s VEX Skyrise challenge. The team – Andrew Chang, Christopher Gong, Rithvik Panchapakesan and Kaushik Shivakumar, all grade 8 –competed in the Dougherty Valley High School VEX Robotics Tournament on Oct. 25 and the South Bay VRC Middle School Tournament on Nov. 8. The Eaglebots made it to the finals in both competitions, finishing second. There were 70-plus teams between the two tournaments. At the South Bay VRC Middle School Tournament, the Eaglebots received the Robot Programming Skills Award and the Excellence Award, qualifying the team for several upcoming VEX Robotics State Championships tournaments in early 2015.

The Excellence Award is the highest award presented in the VEX Robotics Competition. The recipient is a team that exemplifies overall excellence in building a well-rounded VEX robotics program. This team excels in many areas and is a shining example of dedication, devotion, hard work and teamwork. As a strong contender in numerous award categories, this team deserves to be recognized for building a quality robot and a team committed to quality in everything that they do.