From staff reports
The Franklin High School VEX Robotics team has qualified for the Pennsylvania state finals of the 2017 VEX Starstruck competition.
The team, consisting of eight Academic Leadership students from their gifted program, participated in a state qualifying match held Saturday at Forest Hills High School in Sidman.
Members of the VEX team are Sam Burchfield, Tyler Wood, Kiaran Rios, Jack Ross, Trevor Wood, William Robinson, Adam Taylor and Christopher Bullard.
The Starstruck format consisted of head to head matches made up of a 15-second autonomous period followed by a driver controlled segment.
After a rocky 0-2 start in their first two qualifying matches, Franklin fought their way to a fifth-place qualifying position in the 23-team field with an overall 4-3 record.
The Knights then clawed out a one-point quarterfinal victory to lock up a trip to the state finals, which will be held Saturday, March 4, at the Sarah Heinz House in Pittsburgh.
Franklin’s effort ended with a defeat in the semifinal round to the eventual tournament champions.
