Last Saturday, the Malibu High School (MHS) robotics team took home the Robot Skills Award and the AMAZE Award at the VEX State Robotics Championships in Bakersfield, qualifying them for the world championship competition in April.
The five man team — consisting of seniors Izzy Putterman, Sam Burton and Jaime Le, junior Louie Putterman, and freshman Ben Burton — helped bring home the 14th and 15th award for the MHS program, ranking them 33rd in the world.
The robotics squad competed throughout the one-day tournament, matching up against 41 other highly qualified high school teams from across the state. After a hard day of competition, the MHS boys not only earned the most skill points, but were also recognized by the judges for intricate programing of their robot.
Since early October, the Malibu Robotics Team has been working hard for two hours per day, five days a week. After last year’s qualification for the World Championships in Louisville, Ky., the boys are hopeful that they can do even better this year.
“I think our team has grown. We have expanded to other grade levels, and especially in the state competition,” Izzy Putterman commented. “Last year, we had no conception of being ranked in the top 100 in the world. But this year, we’ve held a place in the top 100 and we achieved it at the state’s competition. Our team is quite young [but] has become one of the best teams in California, which is pretty impressive.”
The MHS Robotics team is working harder than ever, eagerly anticipating a second shot at the VEX World Competition in late April 2017.