Hartselle Junior High robotics teams win big at state, advance to world championship

Pictured left to right, Coach Laura Smith, Teagan Ashby, Jackson Kirby, Oliver Weng and Carson Smallwood of the BamaBots. Special to the Enquirer.

Pictured left to right, Coach Laura Smith, Nathan Stith, Rylan Miller, Skyler Lee, Michael Davis and Kayden Waldrep of Fast Not Furious. Special to the Enquirer.

Hartselle Junior High School’s robotics teams recently earned top honors at the Alabama State VEX V5RC Middle School Robotics Championship, held last month at Wallace State Community College.

Three teams-Robotic Nuggies, BamaBots and Fast But Not Furious- competed in a full day of events, including autonomous coding, driving skills, head-to-head qualifying matches and engineering notebook evaluations.

Two teams secured spots at the 2025 VEX Robotics World Championship, which will take place May 9-11 in Dallas.

Robotic Nuggies, consist-ing of Maddie Mathews, Clayton Menanno, Luke Lewis and Silas Sims, earned their invitation by excelling in the Driving Skills category. Coach Laura Smith praised the team’s hard work and innovation.

“Together, they built a high-performing robot that qualified for the world championship based on their driving skills,” Smith said.

BamaBots-Teagan Ashby, Carson Smallwood, Jackson Kirby, and Oliver Weng-fought their way to the final match at state, earning the title of tournament finalists. The team also received the prestigious Judges Award, which recognizes teamwork, professionalism, and communication skills. Their performance secured them a place at the world championship.

Fast But Not Furious- comprised of Nathan Stith, Rylan Miller, Skyler Lee, Michael Davis, and Kayden Waldrep- received the sportsmanship award, given to the team that best exemplifies courtesy, helpfulness, and respect both on and off the field.

Smith expressed pride in all three teams for their season-long dedication.

“We are so proud of all our teams and individual students for their growth, hard work, teamwork and determination throughout the season,” she said.

To help fund their trip to the world championship, the teams are seeking support from local businesses and plan to host spirit nights and other fundraising events in the coming weeks.