• Six high school robotics teams from El Paso, Texas, were among students from more than 60 countries who competed at this year’s VEX Robotics World Championship.
• The El Paso teams earned their way to the event through success in local, regional and national tournaments.
• Marathon Petroleum’s El Paso refinery supported the teams by helping staff local competitions and providing funding to help make it possible for them to compete in the world championship.

---

Teams from four El Paso, Texas, high schools are already aiming to get back to the VEX Robotics World Championship in 2025 after qualifying for this year’s competition through success in local, regional and national tournaments. Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s (MPC) El Paso refinery helped fund their participation in the championship, adding to ongoing assistance for the teams from employee volunteers.

“Our refinery’s Education and Outreach Committee (E&O) supports robotics competitions throughout the season, serving as judges or scorekeepers,” said MPC El Paso Refining Engineer Lauren Shutts, an E&O member who also traveled to the world championship in Dallas to cheer on the teams. “It was a truly amazing experience to watch these students grow and develop their robot designs during the past year.”

“It was a truly amazing experience to watch these students grow and develop their robot designs.”

At the three-day event, more than 20,000 students from more than 60 countries competed across elementary, middle school, high school and college divisions. Teams faced off against each other in timed matches, remotely guiding robots that they built through a variety of obstacles and assigned tasks inside a 12-by-12-foot square.

The El Paso teams that competed included two from Eastwood High School, one from Del Valle High School, two from Franklin High School and one from Horizon High School. One of the Eastwood High School teams advanced to the divisional playoffs, becoming the only El Paso team to do so at this event.

The nonprofit Robotics Education & Competition Foundation manages the VEX Robotics World Championship and related competitions throughout the year. Its global mission is to provide every educator with competition, education, and workforce readiness programs to increase student engagement in science, technology, engineering, math and computer science.

“While exiting the event, I heard many students brainstorming their strategies for next year that could hopefully allow them to return to the 2025 worlds competition,” Shutts said. “The E&O team is excited to see the students return next year and to continue supporting them in their endeavors to become world champions!”