Two teams from Martinsville City Schools emerged victorious this weekend, securing first-place trophies at the VA+DC FIRST LEGO League Challenge state championship held at James Madison University. The competition hosted more than 100 teams from Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The Tree Huggers, a Division 1 team from Patrick Henry Elementary, claimed the top spot in the state for their division in Core Values. Additionally, Absolute Zero, a Division 2 team representing Martinsville Middle School, earned first place in their division for their Innovation Project.
Expressing his enthusiasm, Superintendent Dr. Zeb Talley said, “I am excited about the continued success of our robotics program. Students and staff continue to excel at a high level in this area. Our community will reap benefits from these accomplishments!”
This achievement follows a regional qualifying tournament held in November, where four teams from Martinsville—comprising nearly 40 students in total—advanced to the state championship. The qualifying teams were Absolute Zero, the Mindshifters, the Tree Huggers, and the Bot Squad. A total of 57 Division 1 teams and 57 Division 2, representing schools from across Virginia and D.C., advanced to the state tournament.
“We are extremely proud to have four teams from our district qualify to compete at the state robotics tournament,” said Tammy Allen, coordinator of STEM, Math, and Science. “The teams competed against the best in the state, so it was an incredible honor to have two of our teams bring home trophies. We are so proud of all the hard work our teams and coaches put in and were thrilled to see it pay off with success in the competition. We hope to have even more teams qualify for the state tournament next year!”
FIRST LEGO League is a STEM-based competition that promotes valuable skills. There are four main judging components: the Robot Game, Robot Design, Innovation Project, and Core Values. In the Robot Game, teams undertake the challenge of designing, building, and programming a robot to complete various missions within a 2.5-minute timeframe.
For Robot Design, teams present a concise overview of their mission strategy, robot design, and programming methods. In the Innovation Project, teams identify a problem related to the year’s competition theme and propose a solution. Additionally, teams are evaluated on their embodiment of the Core Values of FIRST LEGO League, which include discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork, and fun.
“This hands-on robotics experience allows students to apply science, math, coding, engineering, and critical thinking skills in an engaging and collaborative setting,” Allen explained. “It sparks passion and interest in STEM from an early age.”
By participating in meaningful technical challenges and solving problems together, students sharpen both hard and soft skills like communication, planning, and teamwork. Presenting their solutions in competition also prepares them for public speaking and presenting in future careers. The program builds technical prowess, collaboration abilities, real-world readiness, and self-confidence.
Some students who participate in LEGO Robotics are inspired to pursue studies and careers in scientific or technical fields.
“Eight of our kids on previous [robotics] teams are either enrolled in engineering programs or are enrolling in engineering programs” after graduation, said Absolute Zero coach Lizzy Fulcher. “I truly believe that comes from the experience that they had in robotics.”
The Tree Huggers are: Wesley Walker, Symphony Phillips, Margot Sharp, Kenneth Lucas, Kavany Flores, Katie Wall, Jade Holland-Dallas, Hailey Turner, Emery Taylor, and Adelyn McKenzie. They are coached by Emily Harrell and Jemeisha Childress.
Absolute Zero is coached by Liz Lynch and Lizzy Fulcher. Team members are: Hudson Grant, Bridgette Brent, Colby Robertson, Zariyah Bouldin, Kyla Steward, Meagan Price, Chris Santiago, Noah Wright, and Mya Williams. The team is mentored by Martinsville High School students Reagan Wright and Nayti Patel, who were members of Absolute Zero when they were in middle school.
