W.T. Clarke Middle School’s Lego Robotics teams in the East Meadow School District delivered an outstanding performance on May 31 at Adelphi University, with all four teams advancing to the playoffs and finishing in the top six in this year’s competition.
Leading the way, The Fantastic 5 earned first place for the second consecutive year, securing the championship trophy along with the Mastermind Award. Team members Kyle Krauz, Natalie Calabrese, Arissa Qu, Nirav Nataraj and Mathias Villanueva showcased exceptional skill and innovation throughout the competition, bringing their program total to four trophies over the past two years.
The Ram Bots, comprised of Sara Bhosale, Bethany Base and Joy Shin, also had a standout performance, earning the Ingenuity Award for their creative and highly effective robot design, recognized as one of the most unique entries in the competition.
The Circuit Crusaders, led by Hridhaan Shetty, Mohammad Islam, Daniel Zheng, Liam Verceles and Ronan Olivares, secured a strong run in the playoffs, earning the third seed after a series of dominant match victories.
Lastly, the Robo Rams, led by Miguel Bagtas, Aaron Faraz, Aydin Rahman and Brayden Guaman Merchan, delivered impressive upset wins before narrowly falling in a sudden-death matchup against another Clarke team in an all-Clarke elimination round.
Together, the teams demonstrated collaboration, problem-solving, engineering skill and perseverance throughout the competition, reflecting months of preparation and teamwork under the guidance of teachers Mr. Greco and Mr. Kandel. The coaches expressed pride in the students’ effort and accomplishments, noting the dedication and commitment each team brought to the competition.
W.T. Clarke Middle School celebrated the students’ success as a testament to the strength of its robotics program and the creativity and determination of its young engineers. 
