Mecha Mules take third in Olympia

The Mecha Mules traveled to Olympia over the weekend to compete against 30 other regional teams in a First Tech Challenge, where, according to the website, students are challenged to design, build, program, and operate robots to compete in head-to-head challenges.

At the WA Watt Interleague Tournament at Capital High School, the Mecha Mules were in second place after qualifiers, and third after a finalist knockout tourney, according to team mentor Ron Wright. They ultimately won a Connect Award and qualified for state competition in Seattle next month.

The Mecha Mules were represented this weekend by lead driver Jamey Heston, awards spokesperson Arwynn Haney, team leader and coder Cor Hoogendoorn, and builder Chandler Tawater. Five Mecha Mules were not able to attend.

The team is coached and mentored by Amanda Heston, Alice Paulson, and Ron Wright.