Rachel Baldwin

Staff Writer

CHARLESTON — The Tug Valley High School “Pantherbots” were honored with a citation at the WV State Capitol on Monday. The robotics team won the PTC Design Award (the best designed robot) for the second year in a row. Delegates Justin Marcum (D-Mingo) and Harry Keith White (D-Mingo) were on hand to present the team with the citation.

“I’m really proud of these kids, the work they’re doing is something you can’t find just anywhere,” Marcum said, “This team is good for these kids. Not only is it a good extracurricular activity, but they’re learning important concepts that have real world applications.”

“It’s great to see kids involved in cutting edge technology,” White said, “It’s rare to find people so passionate about competing and learning, it really makes me proud.”

The “Pantherbots” recently placed second in the First Tech Challenge and were one of the top three finalists in Motivate Award, and award given to the team that exemplifies the essence of the competition.

“The teams had to design a robot that would move a metal ring off of a rod that was eighteen inches off the ground and place it on another rod forty-eight inches off the ground,” said team Captain Jordon Mounts.

Members of the “Pantherbots” include team captain Jordon Mounts, Mark Adkins, Matt Jones, Adam Maynard, Jordan Kiser, and Tristan Maynard. The coaches for the team are Rick Dempsey and Virginia Taylor-Mounts.