Henley robotics team heads to Worlds after winning top award

March 31, 2026 / A Henley High School robotics team is heading to the VEX Robotics World Championship with one of the highest honors possible – the Excellence Award.

The team – seniors Aleia Bresch, Ethan Bissell, Theron Tyler, and Layne Worrell and sophomore Alex Smith – earned the award at the Platinum Oregon State VEX Championship on March 7 at Mt. Hood Community College. The four seniors have competed together for three years and have competed at Worlds each of those years. This is the first time they have earned the Excellence Award.

Henley qualified three teams for the Platinum State event and Mazama High School qualified five. The Excellence Award recognizes a team for overall excellence across all aspects of competition: match performance, engineering design, documentation, and interviews with judges. The last time a Klamath County school received the award was in 2017, when a Mazama team earned the distinction.

“The Excellence Award is about being the most well-rounded team,” Bresch said. “You don’t have to be first in every event, but you have to do well in everything: your engineering notebook, your interview, and your robot performance.”

The team placed second in qualification matches and third in the skills challenge out of roughly 30 teams. Their strong performance, combined with detailed documentation and interviews, helped secure the award.

“We have to document every iteration of the robot – every idea, every challenge, every success and failure,” Bresch said. “Judges look at everything. The engineering notebook is a huge part of it.”

Henley robotics coach David Graham said the team represents the heart of Henley robotics.

“They collaborate, mentor, and support not just each other but other teams as well,” he said. “Their leadership and commitment to excellence show what’s possible when students lift each other up and help others succeed."

Bresch, Bissell, and Tyler began competing together in robotics as early as eighth grade, while Worrell joined them in high school. Smith is in his first year and learning from the seniors.

“Our freshman year we were all on different teams,” Bresch said. “But we had competed together before and were already friends so we decided to form our own team.”

Matches themselves are intense. “The whole game can change in seconds,” said Bissell, the team driver. “One moment you’re winning, and the next, the other team has control. It’s all about strategy and execution.”

The robots compete head-to-head in two-robot alliances. Teams score points by manipulating game pieces and controlling areas of the field. This year’s game involved collecting and placing colored blocks into goals while blocking opponents.

Despite a demanding schedule that includes sports, jobs, and college planning, the seniors keep the team coordinated. “Everyone on the team knows how to do each part,” Tyler said. “If someone can’t make it, the rest of us can keep working.”

Part of the team’s strategy is mentorship. Smith has been learning from the seniors in all aspects of robotics — coding, building, design, and documentation.

“We try to pass on everything we know so the program continues to succeed,” Bresch said. “It’s not just about winning now; it’s about building a sustainable program.”

Henley High School has sent teams to Worlds for the past five years, with the four seniors part of the Worlds team the last three consecutive years. This year, the championship will take place April 21-24 in St. Louis, Mo., with roughly 800 teams from around the world competing.

“It’s exciting,” Bresch said. “Worlds is a completely different level. You see ideas and designs from teams all over the world. It pushes us to improve every part of our robot.”

The Henley team credits much of its success to careful preparation, collaboration, and strategic thinking, as well as experience gained from previous competitions. Their strong showing at Platinum State highlights the strength of the Henley robotics program and its ability to cultivate student leaders who mentor the next generation, said Kristi Lebkowsky, who teaches engineering at Henley High School.

“Creating student leaders who pass their knowledge along is what keeps this program strong,” Lebkowsky said. “These students are not only incredibly successful, but they’re making sure the program thrives after they graduate.”