MIHS VEX Robotics Team Wins Judges Award at VEX World Championship
MIHS VEX Robotics Team Wins Judges Award at VEX World Championship
MISD Communications
MIHS VEX Robotics team a the 2026 VEX World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri.
Mercer Island, WA, April 27, 2026 – A team of four Mercer Island High School students brought home one of the most prestigious honors at the 2026 VEX Robotics High School World Championship, held April 21–24 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Team 98040C, known as the “Slippery Penguins,” won a World Judges Award, a recognition given to teams that consistently demonstrate excellence across engineering notebook, teamwork, and community outreach throughout the season. The award followed rounds of interviews with a panel of world expert judges.
The team is made up of team captain and build lead Harry Nguyen, code lead Brian Kwon, notebook lead Henry Xing, and sponsorship lead Til Wyss — all sophomores at Mercer Island High School.
The 2026 World Championship featured more than 800 high school teams from around the globe, divided into 10 divisions. The Slippery Penguins were placed in the 85-team Design Division – informally known among competitors as the “Division of Death” for the strength of its teams.
The Penguins finished qualification matches with an impressive 11–1 record, ranking 4th in their division and earning a spot in the elimination rounds. Their playoff run ended in the Round of 16 after an unfortunate broken power cable disabled their robot mid-match.
The World Judges Award caps a successful season in which the Slippery Penguins won many awards at local, regional, and world-level competitions. More information about the team is available at www.islanderrobotics.org.
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