CLEVELAND — The robotics team at East Tech High School in Cleveland was crowned state champions of a robotics state championship earlier this month. 

What You Need To Know

  • East Tech High School won a robotics state championship for the first time

  • They began building it in January, and the robot had to have specific requirements

  • Other schools that won were John Marshall, Orange High School and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy

Senior Khalil Anderson was excited about the win. He said it’s something he will remember forever.

“It was really good to work together to, you know, to bring home a state championship,” Anderson said.

The team began building its robot, that it named Static Shock, back in January. The robot needed to be able to pick up an item and either shoot or place it into a specific target.

Freshman Mecyah Mills said it was a challenge, but it was worth it.

“We had couple struggles with this, but after we figured it out and fixed it, it was like great,” Mills said.

The team’s coach, LaShawn Thomas, compared the win to winning a Super Bowl.

“It was just surreal,” Thomas said.

Thomas said it was a win made even more special because it was the school’s first robotics state championship. 

“This was special and overwhelming," Thomas said. "This is the first time we’ve ever won anything as a robotics team." 

Orange High School, John Marshall and Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy were the other state championship winners.