Westwood Middle School team wins third place in world robotics competition

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB)– A school in Gainesville won third place in a world robotics competition that was held this week in Kentucky.

The Diamond Block team from Westwood Middle School took home third place, making them the first Florida team to play in the VEX IQ Worlds finals. The team members were Antonio Baez, Ryan Jacobs, Jayden Montgomery, and Oscar Dale.

More than 800 teams competed in the VEX IQ Robotics World Championship this year.

The competition required students to design, program, and build a robot then have it complete certain tasks.

“I feel really happy and I definitely did not expect to go that far in the competition but when I did I was really happy and grateful to be there,” Baez said.

Westwood Middle School robotics teacher, David Sankey, said he was happy to be a part of the historic moment.

“It was special not for Gainesville but for the state of Florida to have that kind of representation,” Sankey said.

There were eight teams from Alachua County who competed in the championship. Five teams were from Westwood Middle School, two from Wiles Elementary School, and one Lincoln Middle School.