MIDDLEBURG – Even if the Robotics Team at Wilkinson Junior High was one of only two junior high teams at the 56-team FIRST Tech Challenge Florida Championships, the Talon Techs weren’t intimidated.

The group of 12 students believed in their preparation ahead of the two-day event at the Advent Fieldhouse. They spent nearly eight months planning, developing and working to secure sponsorships to compete against a field comprised primarily of senior high teams. The Eagles soared with a third-place finish when it came time to match their work against the state’s best STEM programs.

Wilkinson’s partner and sponsor were the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of Northeast Florida.

The team developed a program last August, and they quickly learned there was a lot more to a robotic competition than building a clever gadget.

“It’s a business at this level,” said the school’s robotic and technology teacher, Neil Mckenzie.

The competition started last September when teams were told their themes. Students had to find sponsors to pay for the project and decide how to make their robot complete projects within the theme.

“This year’s theme was ‘center stage,’ so we started talking about different stage elements of an actual theater,” Mckenzie said. “We were dealing with backstage, backdrop rigging and those sort of things, those named elements. We started to decide how we wanted to play the game and how we would score the points. And we had to try to solve the problem using a robot. The students completely designed our robot with help from mentors and technical advisors. They answered questions and taught them how to implement those dreams and processes.”

The Talon Techs qualified for the state finals at the 42-team Northeast Florida competition. Other teams in the NE Florida Region came from Middleburg, Ridgeview, Fleming Island and Clay highs and Orange Park Junior High.

Wilkinson excelled in six qualifying rounds in Winter Haven to be a Top Four finalist. They lost the chance to be in the finals to the eventual state champion from Punta Gorda.

FIRST, which is an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, is a youth-served nonprofit that advances STEM education. It prepares students for the future through a suite of life-changing youth robotics programs that build skills, confidence and resilience. The group also has a LEGO League for students in prekindergarten through eighth grade; Tech Challenge for students in seventh through 12^th grades; and Robotic League for students in ninth through 12^th grades.

Mckenzie said next year’s team is already thinking ahead.

“We’re already making plans,” he said. “The offseason is when a lot of things get done.”