Members of Iron Patriots Yikes robotics team from Wheeling Park High School celebrate after winning the state robotics championship on Monday. They also received the awards for overall excellence, and for top robotic skills. Pictured from left are Levi Henry, Mya White, Josh Hess, James Maclay, Rex Montayne and Liam Donaghy. (Photo provided)

WHEELING – There were four teams in the finals at the West Virginia State Robotics Championship on Monday – three from Wheeling Park High School and one from John Marshall High School.

In the end, an alliance of WPHS Iron Patriots teams X-Ray and Yikes won the high school robotics state championship that took place this week at Fairmont State University. They defeated a partnership of a third WPHS team, Iron Patriots Platypus and the John Marshall team Atomic.

X-Ray and Yikes automatically advance to the Vex Robotics World Championships set for April 21-30 at the America’s Center Convention Center in St. Louis.

Joining them at the world championships will be the John Marshall team George Drinks Water, who qualified by winning the design award at the championships.

Teams winning the overall excellence award the robot skills awards also qualify, but both awards were won by Iron Patriots Yikes. This allowed two other teams to take one of the five spots at the world championships allotted to West Virginia.

Iron Patriots K-Otic now will attend, as will Breaking Bot from Capital High School in Charleston.

Wheeling Park High School robotics coach Luke Shepherd is congratulated by daughter Kempsie after winning the “Volunteer of the Year” award from the West Virginia Robotics Alliance on Monday. (Photo provided)

This means four of the five teams winning an invite to the world championships are from the Northern Panhandle.

Seven of the eight teams making the semi-finals were either from WPHS or John Marshall. Those defeated in the semi-finals were the partnerships of Iron Patriots Zenith and Breaking Bot, and Iron Patriots K-Otic and George Drinks Water from John Marshall.

The middle school state championships take place today, and winners in that competition also will receive an invitation to the world championship. Local middle schools are expected to do well.

WPHS teams achieved the following rank in the qualifying rounds of the 48 team tournament – X-Ray (1); Yikes (2); K-Otic (3); Zenith (6); and Platypus (24).

John Marshall teams completed qualifiers with the following rankings – George Drinks Water (4); Atomic (5); Team Rocket (10); Killer Frequency (16); and The Hippies (33).

Other Northern Panhandle teams at the state championships were the EagleBotics from Magnolia High School (27), and the CCHS Alphas from Wheeling Central Catholic High School (38).

WPHS robotics coach Luke Shepherd also was awarded the “Volunteer of the Year” award from the West Virginia Robotics Alliance.