OIA robotics team qualifies for World VEX Competition

April 8, 2020 | 12:06 am

Updated April 7, 2020 | 11:31 pm

Owensboro Innovation Academy is pleased to announce that one of its robotics teams qualified for the VEX World Robotics Competition. The team, Event Horizon, is the first from any local high school to have qualified for the world competition.

Seniors Sam Ling and Shane Marcum and sophomore Luke Austin make up the three-man team.

To qualify for the world competition, the team had to finish as one of the top 13 teams in the state of Kentucky. Event Horizon finished the season ranked sixth out of 97 Kentucky high school teams, 165th out of 4,195 US high school teams, and 196th out of 4,941 world high school teams.

Marcum said to finally qualify for the world competition felt amazing and it was one of the best moments of his senior year.

More than 700 high school teams from around the world were set to compete at the world competition in Louisville at the Kentucky Expo Center later this month, but the event has now been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“I don’t like it,” Marcum said. “My senior year is the year we finally make it (to worlds) and we don’t get to go. It’s upsetting.”

Marcum said the friendships on the team is something he will cherish even after high school is over.

Even though they don’t get to compete at worlds, VEX will be hosting a virtual celebration on April 25.

April 8, 2020 | 12:06 am

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