EVERETT — Jackson High School’s robotics team came home with a division victory in the FIRST world robotics championships held this weekend in Houston, Texas, and nearly advanced to go head-to-head in the championship final.
Jack in the Bot, from Jackson, won within its division and made it into the final playoffs. In these playoffs, Jack in the Bot competed against the highest ranked teams that came from five other divisions.
Jackson’s team came from the Newton division, and was the team captain for a group of teams from the Newton division to compete as a unified squad in the playoffs. The Newton team finished 3rd in this semifinal championship, behind only by the Galileo and Turing teams.
In related news, The Sonic Squirrels, a team comprised of Snohomish and Glacier Peak high schoolers, finished 54th of 76 competitors at Houston, having to pack it up after the qualifier rounds.
Only 18 teams from the Pacific Northwest advanced to the world competition out of 124 from this region.
Jackson’s robotics coach is Kyle Pihl. The team entered the Houston championships with a 68-5 record accrued from regional and local competition. Their robot is named “Thor” after robotics team founder Maggie Thorleifson.
