Recently, students from Sherrard Middle School and John Marshall High School showcased their engineering and coding talents at the 2026 VEX Robotics Competition, hosted by West Virginia University’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
The event brought together more than 50 teams from across the state to design, build, and compete with robots in the VEX Competitions with the high school competition on Saturday with the middle school on Sunday. Several students delivered outstanding performances:
John Marshall High School
Teams 26038A- George Drinks Water [Team Members: Narada Braun, Sophie Cunningham, Lilly Bergen & Knox Wilson] and 26038X - Atomic [Team Members: Kinglsey Zheng & Tripp Bonds] were the alliance that capture Tournament Championship in the high school division.
George Drinks Water also earned the prestigious Excellence Award, recognizing the best all-around team and guaranteeing a spot at the State Championship.
Tournament champion and Excellence Award winning teams qualify for the State Championship and are eligible for a $1,500 annual scholarship for four years if they attend WVU’s Statler College.
Team 26038X - Atomic also captured the Robot Skills Championship for their amazing driver and autonomous skills score.
Also taking home some hardware from JM is 26038S - Killer Frequency [Team Members: Hannah Oliver, Allison Twigg-Grisell, Blake Oliver & Kolson Shepard]. They won the Think Award for outstanding coding & coding documentation.
Sherrard Middle School
Teams 26003A -Lil’ George [Team Members: Evan Cunningham, Gavin Pickett, Joziah Baker, Gunner King, Caleb Wallace & Gabby Dantrassy] and 26003S - Clankers [Team Members: Josh Naome, Nathan Spangler, Jett McCardle & Alex Hamrick] claimed The Tournament Championship. Cunningham & Pickett now win their third straight WVU VEX Championship and Baker his second straight.
Teams 26003Y- Loose Screws [Team Members: Rickey VanDyne, Eli Decrease, Oakley Geho, JT Baker & Luke VanScyoc] and 26003R-Rubber Duckies [Team Members: Chase Nolan, Brodie Callahan, Carter Wells & Landis Dean] earned Tournament Finalists in the middle school division, which will qualify them for the State Championship in March.
26003R also captured the Think Award for outstanding coding and documentation.
Lil’ George received the Excellence Award, guaranteeing a direct path to the State Championship.
Winners of the Tournament Championship also earned $425 scholarships for WVU’s Engineering Challenge Camps. They also won the Skills Championship Award for their amazing driver and autonomous skills score. This completes the Robotics Triple Crown of Tournament Champion, Skills Champion & Excellence Award Winner.
Also capturing their first award of the season, the Judges Award, was team 26003B - Cinnamon Toast Crunchers [Team Members: Rivi Wilson, Zada Grisell, Nicole Spangler, & Charlee Derrow]. This award is given to a team that stands out for unique qualities or efforts that may not fit other award categories but deserve special recognition.
New State Qualifiers:
Due to several teams winning multiple bids to the State Championship in March we have some new teams qualified for the State Competition due to their High Skills Challenge Score. From SMS - 26003R, 26003Y & 26003B all qualified [Team Members listed above]. Also qualifying for the state championship is team 76936C - The Princess Reesecorns [Team Members: Nash Rogers, Dominic Kennen, Mason Crogan, Luke Colby, Blake Yoho] from Moundsville Middle School. All the other award winners from John Marshall & Sherrard Middle have already qualified for the State Competition.
This year’s game, Push Back, challenged students to score points by placing blocks in goals, controlling zones, and parking robots in designated spaces—all while demonstrating coding and engineering skills.
