Robotics teams from both Woodstock School District 200 middle schools took home trophies from the First Lego League state competition.

Both teams tackled the real-world problems of space travel and programmed their robots to perform a series of tasks.

The Apollo XVIII team from Creekside Middle School and Space Squad team from Northwood Middle School placed at the Dec. 8 event hosted at Northwood, where they competed against 14 other teams from Northwood, Creekside and other neighboring school districts.

Their scores allowed them to advance to the state competition Jan. 19 at Elgin Community College, where they competed among dozens of teams from Chicago and northern Illinois, sharing their skills and the results of their preparation and research.

“Space Squad, along with [Apollo XVIII], were the best version of D-200 students,” Space Squad coach Gigi Carlson said. “Although it was a competition with 48 teams in attendance, you could find both middle schools cheering for each other all day at the robot performance tables.”

This year’s First Lego League challenge theme was “Into Orbit.” Space Squad took on the issue of astronauts experiencing ear problems during space travel, while Apollo XVIII developed a light to combat the loss of vitamin D that astronauts experience while on extended missions.

After a long day of competition in Elgin, Apollo XVIII was awarded the trophy for Best Robot Design: Innovation & Strategy, while Space Squad won the trophy for Best Project: Research.

“It is the first time for Woodstock that two different teams, from two different schools, have won a state-level trophy in two different categories,” Carlson said. “We are immensely proud of everyone’s efforts.”

Kristina Hermansson, coach of Apollo XVIII, said she was thrilled for both teams and amazed by their success at state.

“What a wonderful group of kids. They worked so hard, cooperating, learning from each other,” Hermansson said. “As a teacher, it’s really a joy to see those efforts pay off.”

In addition to the trophy, Space Squad was asked to present to the crowd of more than 1,500 people at Elgin Community College.

Students competing on District 200 robotics teams participate as part of their schools’ Challenge Corps program for gifted students.

Space Squad team members are Alex Azarela, A.J. Bigler, Bob Gerloff, Will Madigan, Claire Miranda, Teya Nieman, Ryan Nolan, Emerich Parpart, Malaika Parpart and  A.J. Ringpis.

Apollo XVII team members are Adeline Arana, Javier Benito, Isabella Kozlow, Jackson Lyons, Daniel Mugica, Vincent Perez, Kathleen Thomas and Alisha Virani.