Pirate Robotics teams competed at the VEX State Championship at Green Valley High School on March 7.

“What an incredible year we have had,” said Coach Bryan Linford. “All our teams did so well at the tournament. Overcoming one challenge at a time, and with only a few losses, they dominated the day. Dread Pirates put up an untouchable skills score, with an impressive third in the world result. The tournament is always a challenge, especially this year, as lower-level teams can make last moment upsets because of the nature of the game. Nonetheless, we know what we accomplished and know our teams are the best Nevada has to offer by far. We look forward to continuing to dominate Nevada and showing everyone we are not going anywhere but up.”

The Dread Pirates, Joshua Linford and Jace Newsom, placed first in skills and second after the qualification matches. In skills, ranking first at the competition, they scored a combined total of 219 points, with 109 in programming and 110 in driving. Overall, they now rank third in the world for skills, with the goal to win skills at the world championship.

Making it to the finals matches, they scored over 50 points more across the two matches in the best-of-three series, but were disqualified for the first match due to a questionable violation given to their teammates. Although their team and many others at the competition did not agree with the ruling, they had to move on to the third finals match, where they lost by just two points. At the end they were tournament finalists and skills champions, and they received the Think Award, finishing out their last time competing at state.

The Marauders ranked sixth place after the qualification matches with a record of seven wins and one loss. For the elimination matches, they paired with a team from Coronado High School, 5XL, making it all the way to the semifinals, where they had to face the Dread Pirates. They put up a strong fight in the elimination bracket and received the Energy Award for their enthusiasm throughout the tournament.

Kalypso also ranked high in the event. Ranking ninth in qualifications and skills, they paired with The Technicians, a team from Advanced Technology Academy. On the other side of the bracket, they advanced all the way to the semifinals, where they were eliminated.

The Dread Pirates will be going to the world championships the week of April 21.