March 30, 2021 – The Collinsville High School Robotics team of juniors James Metcalf and Jacob McChristian, and sophomore Brandon Nygard, is headed to compete at the VEX Robotics Competition State Championship on Saturday, April 3, 2021 at Illinois State University.
“James and Jacob have been together since 7th grade and Brandon joined them as a freshman last year,” said CHS VEX Robotics Coach Cynthia Bednara, “This year has been very difficult, while they were able to prototype their robot in CADD and build a working model almost instantly, the pandemic has limited them to remote competitions and skills events – giving them little ability to see other teams in action and have regular conversations with them as they have in the past years.”
“They are super excited to be able to go to the state competition and compete in-person against 23 other teams representing the best in Illinois – all of which are from the Chicago area. They are hoping to do well enough to earn a trip to VEX Worlds Competition – even though it is remote this year – as they would be our first team from CHS to do so. They have come a long way over the years and I am already excited to see what they do next year. They are anxious to find out what next year’s challenge will be when it is released at Worlds at the end of May,” added Bednara.