(CONTRIBUTED)

MADISON – Two teams in LEGO robotics from Heritage Elementary School earned first-place nods at area competitions.

The “16 Minutes” team received the first-place Overall Championship Award. This qualifying regional tournament for the 2013 Nature’s Fury Challenge was held last November at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

16 Minutes team members are Jeremy Anderson, Lauren Assaf, Emma Drake, Jackson Lanier, Michael Pagan-Selby and Duke Yeom. Judges reviewed the students’ work in robot design, core values and research project categories.

“The ’16 Minutes’ team represented our school with great skill and sportsmanship,” Heritage Principal Dr. Georgina Nelson said. “They also received first place for robot performance and scored more points on the board than any other team.”

In addition, the Firestorm team from Heritage won the Robot Strategy and Design Award at the FIRST LEGO League Qualifier in Arab in December. “The team worked for months to prepare for this competition,” Nelson said.

Members of the Firestorm team are Colin Beyersdorf, Lane Chatterton, Neil Chaudhary, Vishay Ram, Jake Strickland and Steve Yoon.

“Thank you, team Firestorm, for representing Heritage with such tremendous work ethic and skill,” Nelson said.

Both the 16 Minutes and Firestorm teams will advance to the Alabama State Tournament on Jan. 25.

Elementary and middle school students in the United States and Canada can compete in the FIRST LEGO League (FLL). Each year, the FIRST organization coordinates the contests, which focus on a different real-world topic related to the sciences.

For more information, visit alabamafll.org.