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Photo Courtesy of Kori Rich

The WACO robotics team got to take home some hardware after earning first place in the Overall Project category at the First Lego League state competition last week.

According to Head Coach Kori Rich, the award is handed out to the team who shows the greatest quality of research, community sharing, and presentation that best applies a complete and in-depth understanding of the project and its purpose. The team of 7th and 8th graders has been researching the effects that space can have on the human body during space exploration. The students have spent time with experts in the field including a trip to Iowa City to visit with Iowa University Professors Dr. Richard Shields and Dr. Terry Wahls.

Rich says the competition is more than just math and science, “I really enjoy seeing the kids grow and becoming very good speakers and role models to the community. When I see a kid go from shy and isn’t so comfortable being in front of other people to just coming out and showing what they can do and being really excited about what they researched and how exciting it is.” The students that traveled to Ames were Mattias Luitjens, Noah Rich, Isaac Oswald, Ty Egli, Jessica Unternahrer, Colton Leichty, Wyatt Dennis, and Roman Roth. This is the first time in the six-year program that the WACO Robotics Team has placed at the state level.