POTSDAM — Clinton Middle School seventh graders Nicholas Venero, Ben Wileczka and Jack Wilson were named Regional Champions at the FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Championship held Saturday, Feb. 11, at Clarkson University in Potsdam.

Their team, “Undercover Power,” won first place in the regional competition, which included 25 teams from throughout the upstate New York region. They also took first place for robot performance in the robot games.

Friendly competition is at the heart of the FLL Challenge, as teams of students ages 9-14 engage in research, problem-solving, coding and engineering – building and programming a LEGO robot that navigates the missions of a robot game. As part of the LEGO Challenge, teams also participate in an innovation project to identify and solve a relevant real-world problem.

This season’s theme was “Superpowered” and teams explored innovative ideas for improving the energy journey.

Venero, Wileczka and Wilson have been preparing for the competition after school and on weekends by building and coding their robot, researching their solar panel snow removal innovation project and preparing a presentation for FLL judges.

FIRST LEGO League is an international program founded in 1989, with proven impact on STEM learning that helps students gain confidence to explore the innovation process and learn valuable science, engineering, technology, teamwork and problem-solving skills. Students also learn and apply the FIRST ethos of gracious professionalism via a signature set of FIRSTCore Values, including discovery, innovation, impact, inclusion, teamwork and fun.

For more information on FIRST LEGO League, visit www.firstinspires.org.