VEX ROBOTICS COMPETITION

Record-Eagle/Jan-Michael Stump
From left, Bellaire's Olivia Reed, 14, Jaelyn Silk, 15, Charity Benoit, 15 and Arianna Pries, 15, compete in a qualifying round during Saturday's "Winter Luau" VEX Robotics Qualifier at the Grand Traverse Academy in Traverse City. Forty-two teams of junior high and high school students from 16 schools used robots they designed, built and programmed using the VEX Robotics Design System to compete in a "starstruck" challenge involving moving bean bags and star-shaped objects across a barrier to the opposing team's side. Winning teams advance to the West Michigan Qualifying Tournament next week, where they will compete for a trip to the state tournament at Michigan State University February 18 and 19.

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