Now, they’re asking the community for help to make the season all it can be.

Warren Area High School’s VEX Robotics Competition team, 52575C- “I Can’t Pronounce That!”, has achieved five state-qualifying awards across three tournaments.

Back in November, the team had victories at the season-opening at the Clash at the Castle tournament in Franklin. The Dragons have proven to be an extraordinary team. Recently, the team competed at the season opener in Franklin, winning in the areas of Design, Skills and Tournament Champions.

Other competitions include one at Fairview and another at North Clarion where they won Excellence, Skills and Tournament Champions.

As a club-level team, all expenses, including transportation, registration fees, lodging, and substitute teacher costs, are covered by the students themselves. To support their continued success, Team 52575C is actively seeking sponsorships.

Qualifying for the PA State Tournament at their very first event, based on award and performance, this would have qualified the team an additional five times, under standard criteria. Having already qualified for the VEX Robotics World Championships in each of the past two seasons, the team is no stranger to success, but this year’s momentum is especially exciting, according to team members.

“I only expected to win six awards from the start of this season to the end of my senior year,” said Lincoln Olsen, a Warren Area High School junior and team driver. “But we’ve already won nine awards in our first three competitions. We’re very excited to see what the other competitions, including our first signature event and the U.S. Invitational, have in store for us.”

Signature events are limited, highly competitive tournaments that bring together top teams from across regions, and Team 52575C will attend its first official signature event, Gateway to the West, in West Virginia later this month, which could bring a direct invitation to the VEX Robotics World Championships in St. Louis. They have been invited to the CREATE Foundation U.S. Open, a national invitational tournament in Iowa this March.

Teams 52575C and 52575D are registered for three additional regional competitions on the following dates and locations: January 24: Cranberry, February 13: Fort LeBoeuf, and February 14: DuBois.

Team 52575C has already qualified for the Western Pennsylvania State Championship to be held on March 9, at Clarion University. They are also registered for a Signature Event and an Invitational. A Signature Event participation is based on the team’s proven competitive record while an Invitational participation is based on receiving the invitation and funding availability.

District approval for these events is still pending. The events run the entire day and teams compete in six or seven randomly assigned alliance qualifying matches throughout the morning and early afternoon. After qualifying rounds, teams participate in alliance selections, where top�’ranked teams choose partners for the elimination bracket. The event concludes with bracket elimination rounds and an awards ceremony recognizing judged awards, performance awards, and tournament champions.

“Since the school board launched the competitive robotics program in 2020, it has become a powerful avenue for students interested in STEM to deepen their knowledge and skills,” said Art Anderson, Robotics Team teacher. “Support from II4T from the very beginning has been outstanding, and you can see the growth in the students’ abilities through their results. The moment the new challenge was revealed at Worlds 2025, the team immediately began planning their robot and strategy, and that hard work is clearly paying off.”

Team 52575C is qualified for states, while 52575D is working on that goal. Both teams continuously work throughout the season to improve their notebooks, interviews, designs, match strategies and rankings. The boosters solicit sponsorships and are actively seeking sponsors to encourage the Robotics Team’s success due to the costs involved as they continue to advance and qualify for tournaments. The Robotics Club is largely funded by the team itself, including the students’ families and teacher, Arthur Anderson.

Those wishing to contribute may make checks payable to WAHS VEX ROBOTICS BOOSTERS and mail them to:

WAHS VEX Robotics Boosters, PO Box 24, Warren, PA 16365