FRYEBURG — Fryeburg Academy welcomed 100-plus students from nine Maine and New Hampshire schools to its first VEX V5 Robotics Competition on Jan. 25.

In the Ada Cram Wadsworth Arena, 21 robotic teams competed with the assistance of many volunteers. Four academy teams competed and Fryeburg Academy’s Team C of Ava Chadbourne, Sam Stoker-Ball, Mel Boeker and Roze Schenstrom earning an invitation to the Maine State Championships in South Portland on March 14.

The academy’s rookie team Where’s Peter?, Yeet Ercan, Andrii Obertas and Quang Nguyen made it to the final eliminations.

Fryeburg Academy has 20 active team members, 13 competing and seven volunteer students. Additionally, the academy’s newly offered robotics classes have students who are learning the VEX robotics system — a hands-on learning curriculum and robotics kit designed to teach high school students problem-solving, coding and engineering.