IMS robotics team wins state championship, competes at worlds

May 6, 2024 1:30 pm
From left to right: Islander Middle School Slippery Penguin eighth-grade robotics team members are Zevi Danielli, Henry Xing, Brian Kwon, Harry Nguyen, Til Wyss, Kenan Khatib and Jeremy Leung. Photo courtesy of CJ Nguyen
From left to right: Islander Middle School Slippery Penguin eighth-grade robotics team members are Zevi Danielli, Henry Xing, Brian Kwon, Harry Nguyen, Til Wyss, Kenan Khatib and Jeremy Leung. Photo courtesy of CJ Nguyen

Special to the Reporter

Islander Middle School (IMS) is turning into a hotbed for robotics.

Following its win at the Washington State VEX Middle School Championship earlier this spring, Slippery Penguin traveled to Dallas, Texas, for the 2024 VEX Robotics World Championship. Slippery Penguin, consisting of eighth-graders Harry Nguyen, Til Wyss, Brian Kwon, Jeremy Leung, Henry Xing, Kenan Khatib and Zevi Danielli, competed in its second VEX Robotics season.

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 and game strategy. Their efforts paid off at the world championship, where Slippery Penguin won nine out of 10 qualifying games, earning the third seed in its division’s playoffs. Showcasing its 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 IMS eighth-graders in context: Out of nearly 14,000 teams worldwide, only about 3% qualify for the VEX Robotics World Championship, with fewer making it to the playoffs. The CJ Nguyen-coached Slippery Penguin came out of the world championship as the highest-ranking middle school robotics team in the entire Pacific Northwest, concluding its season on a high note.