Orange Students Head to VEX Robotics World Championship

Orange Town News Staff

April 9, 2026

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Four CT STEM Academy students smile with a trophy and banner after winning the Design Award at the 2026 VEX IQ Robotics Connecticut State Championship.

Sophia Wong, Cathleen Barnes, Matjia Kelly, Victoria Cyr

Sophia Wong, from Amity Middle School Orange and River Vora from Race Brook Elementary School are going to VEX IQ Robotics World Championship on April 28-30 in St. Louis.

They both attend CT Stem Academy in Wallingford to build their robots with their teams since September and participated in numerous tournaments that led up to the CT VEX IQ Challenge State Championship which is the qualifier for VEX IQ Challenge World Championship. Sophia's team 55508C (the Calico Cats) is a all girls team.

They have won multiple awards including Innovate Award, Excellence Award, Judges Award, and Design Award.

River's team 55508B (The Laura Fans) has won Build Award, Create Award, Innovate Award, and Teamwork 2nd and 3rd place.

CT STEM Academy's Lee Parsons, Rodrigo Juarez, River Vora, Max Ulbrich, Sophia Wong, Victoria Cyr, and Cathleen Barnes celebrate their VEX IQ Robotics success. — Lee Parsons, Rodrigo Juarez, River Vora, Max Ulbrich, Sophia Wong, Victoria Cyr, Cathleen Barnes

Their teams are going to represent Connecticut on the World stage.

They could use your support to cover the travel cost and registration fee. Please support them via their gofundme link by going to https://www.gofundme.com/f/supporting-ct-stem-academys-impactful-mission

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