MATTAWA - Wahluke Junior High (WJH) hosted its first Vex Robotics tournament last Saturday, Jan. 18, and welcomed 20 teams and 200 fans from middle schools of Sierra Vista, Harrison, Toppenish, and Wapato.

According to WJH Dean of Students Sean Langdon, the VEX robotics tournaments offer teams the opportunity to engage in its applications of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Wahluke Robotics finished within the top 10 and sent all four teams to the finals.

"All teams worked extremely hard, and fought tough battles, all the way through the semifinals," said Mr. Hamilton, Wahluke Robotics coach and volunteer coordinator for the event.

Last year the Wahluke team went to only one VEX Robotics tournament, and this year the team has participated in six major tournaments. Warriors Robotics team 1 received a design award from the judges.

"This event marks huge success with Wahluke Robotics," said Arthur Morken, Wahluke Robotics Coach and event coordinator.

"This tournament was an immense success," Langdon added, "in that it provided the opportunity for students to demonstrate pride in their hard work and determination for excellence."

The tournament had a huge volunteer base from the community and Wahluke Junior High and High School students.

Those who would like to see highlights of the tournament can go to Wahluke Junior High and the Wahluke School District's Facebook pages, as well as Wahluke Junior High's twitter, @WahlukeJH and #WJHrobots14.

If you would like to watch the event in its entirety, it can be found on www.highschoolcube.com by searching Wahluke. Wahluke Robotics look forward to the Eastern Washington Junior High State competition Feb. 15.