Several Mars Area students competed in the FIRST® Tech Challenge (FTC) Pennsylvania State Championship held Feb. 29-March 1 at Red Lion Area Senior High School (Red Lion, Pa.).

The “Giant Diencephalic BrainSTEM Robotics Team,” members of which included Mars Area High School senior Adrian Zugehar, was named an Allegheny Winning Alliance captain and a Championship Finalist Alliance captain; won the Collins Aerospace Innovate Award; placed third in the Inspire Award competition; and qualified to compete at the FTC World Championships, to be held April 29-May 2 in Detroit, Mich.  

The Mars Robotics Association team, “MARS: Curiosity?,” which include Mars Area High School senior Matthew Gourash and freshman Lindsey Gourash earned second place in the Inspire Award competition in the West Central Pennsylvania Qualifier.

The FTC program, open to students in Grades 7-12, challenges students to design, build and program robots to compete in team contests. For more information, visit www.ftcpenn.org.