Northland Robotics Teams Head to Houston For World Championships

HERMANTOWN, Minn. – One of three Northland high school robotics team got on the road Tuesday to compete in the world championships later this week.

The Hermantown Talons boarded chartered bus and got a police escort out of the city.  They will be on the road for 22 hours.

Their destination is Houston to compete with hundreds of other schools in the First Championships.  They earned their way in by winning the Minnesota North Star Regional back in March.

Team members say they are ready to compete, and are thankful for the financial and morale backing from the community.

“We’ve received a ton of support from the school and from all of our sponsors and donors,” says sophomore Broden Bruhjell, a first-year member with the team.  “We had to raise a lot of money for this, so it’s been really nice to see people coming out to give us money and support us.”

“Just yesterday we had a pep fest here in Hermantown where we got to have the whole entire school watching us, cheering us on, and watching our robot demonstrate,” says Ethan Stephenson, a junior and programming leader for the team.  “It’s really awesome to get that kind of recognition to this sport which is sometimes called the sport of the mind.”

The First Championships takes place Wednesday through Saturday.

Also representing the Northland are the Denfeld Nation Automation from Duluth Denfeld High School, and the Iron Mosquitoes, a team consisting students from Babbitt, Cook, and Ely.  Denfeld got their own escort by Duluth Police Monday.