Two Meadow Glen Middle robotics teams returned to the winners’ circle.

This season’s FIRST LEGO League theme, Into Orbit, challenged students to apply innovation to the world of space travel by solving real-world problems and completing missions.

MGMS’s all-girls team, “Gator Gears,” earned a trip to international competition by finishing 2nd in the race for the South Carolina FIRST LEGO League Champion’s Award and will represent South Carolina at the FIRST LEGO League Razorback Open Invitational in May 2019.

The Gator Gears include Sydney C. Davis, Sachi Lal, Hir D. Panchal, Sarina Y. Patel, Anuska Sharma, Celeste C. Sullivan and Rebecca L. Yu.

At the same state competition, Team Members Sam J. Cancilla, Drew B. Carter, Aodhan F. Keenan, Ratish S. Korrapati, Ritvik S. Korrapati, Ryan J. Paraday and Arav Rastogi won first place for South Carolina FIRST LEGO League Best Mechanical Design.