TRIADELPHIA – Five teams from Sherrard Middle School made it to the elimination rounds of the Gateway To The West robotics tournament on Thursday, but the gold went home to California.

An alliance between “The Blue Army” of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and “Shooting Stars” of Arcadia, California, defeated an alliance of teams from Rockville, Maryland, and Ontario, Canada, to win first place at the event and spots at the VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, Texas this spring.

The five teams from Sherrard were the only local teams to advance from the qualification rounds at Gateway To The West, which is taking place at The Highlands Sports Complex this week.

There were 16 alliances consisting of 32 teams advancing in the 80-team tournament, which saw 22 teams withdraw due to weather.

The team “Loose Screws” from Sherrard was selected for an alliance by the aptly named team “Alliance Partner” from Tionesta, Pennsylvania. Other Sherrard teams “Clankers” and “Lil’ George” paired together for the elimination round, as did “Cinnamon Toast Crunchies” and “Rubber Duckies.” All three alliances lost in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Yet coach Zak Klemm believes the teams gained important experience at the tournament going forward.

“I’m very proud,” he said. “Our teams have come a long way. We have expanded a bit. We had four teams here last year, and six teams this year. We actually have seven teams, but only six here because you are only allowed six per organization.

“It makes me proud to see the growth of West Virginia robotics. The best part is this isn’t the end of our season. There is a lot to go on still, and there’s a lot to build off of. Those teams learned a lot of lessons.”

Klemm does believe they will be a force at the West Virginia State Robotics Championships, slated for March 7-14, 2026 at the Fairmont State University. At the recent robotics competition at West Virginia University, both alliances in the finals were made up of teams from Sherrard, he noted.

“I wouldn’t say that’s a goal of mine, but it would be fantastic to look around at the state finals while I’m emceeing and see my teams there. That would be fantastic.”

In addition to his coaching duties, Klemm is serving as emcee and the voice for Gateway To The West this week. He will emcee the state championships, which he did last year.

“It’s a fine line to balance, especially when things don’t go your way,” he said. “But my teams and I have a good relationship. I’m blessed with having a strong support system in our program.”

The competition for high school teams starts today at The Highlands Sports Complex, and concludes on Saturday.