The Metea Valley Robotics Team, Mustang Voltage, exceeded expectations at the VEX Robotics World Championship, coming in 24th place out of the 97 different teams from across the world in their division. The team had the third best placement in Illinois, despite being a relatively new team.

“Last year we only won three of our ten matches so we weren’t expecting to do much, but this year we won way more, so we’re really proud of our progress,” junior programmer Nathan Pruyne said.

The team went up against teams from all over the world, including China, Canada, and Mexico. “It was pretty crazy, pretty fun. I mean there’s going to be some language barriers there but otherwise it was really fun,” Pruyne said on their experiences with the other teams.

The VEX robotics world championship was streamed for hundreds of people in the Kentucky Exposition Center. This kind of event may not have the same glamour as soccer or football, but the work the Mustang robotics team has done cannot be understated. You never know when the robot might just stop working, or you need to replace something quickly or change the program slightly in order to get everything working smoothly again.

While this tournament may be over, the robotics team still has a busy schedule ahead of them, full of tournaments and challenges.

“We’re hoping to make it back to world’s next year, our goal is to make it there 3 years in a row and maybe even get top ten one day,” Pruyne said.

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Melissa Pruyne

The Mustangs celebrate their placement