IMS Robotics Team: State Champion & Divisional Quarterfinalist At the 2024 VEX World Championship

Mercer Island, WA, May 2, 2024 - Islander Middle School is turning into a hotbed for robotics. Following their win at the Washington State VEX Middle School Championship earlier this spring, Team Slippery Penguin traveled to the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship from April 28 to April 30 in Dallas, Texas.

Slippery Penguin, consisting of IMS eighth graders Harry Nguyen (Team Captain), Til Wyss, Brian Kwon, Jeremy Leung, Henry Xing, Kenan Khatib, and Zevi Danielli, competed in their second VEX Robotics season this year. The seven friends met regularly after school to design, build and test their robot to compete in regional and national tournaments. Despite facing challenges early on, the team members were dedicated to honing their coding skills, mechanical engineering prowess, teamwork, and game strategy.

Their efforts paid off at the World Championship, where Slippery Penguin won 9 out of 10 qualifying games, earning the third seed in their division's playoffs. Showcasing their remarkable progress, the team advanced to the next round, ultimately narrowly losing in the quarterfinals against strong international competition.

To put the achievement of the team in context: Out of nearly 14,000 teams worldwide, only about 3% qualify for the VEX Robotics World Championship, with a much fewer 0.6% advancing to the quarterfinals. Slippery Penguin came out of the World Championship division as the highest-ranked Middle School robotics team in the entire Pacific Northwest, concluding their season on a high note.

As they transition to Mercer Island High School this fall, we wish Harry, Til, Brian, Jeremy, Henry, Kenan, and Zevi continued success in their robotics endeavors.