Nov. 14 Tharptown Elementary School hosted its first robotics competition under the guidance of instructor Jake Ward.

“It was pretty fun. We wanted to set a standard and show what Tharptown can do,” Ward said.

Twenty-three teams participated in the competition that was held at the A.W. Todd Center in Russellville.

“I was blown away by the turn out. We weren’t expecting it,” Ward said.

Teams from Belgreen, Red Bay, Vina and Russellville competed, as well as teams from Florence and Hartselle. Tharptown itself didn’t have any teams participate; Ward said this was to avoid any appearance of favoritism, since people from Tharptown served as judges.

TES teachers who served as judges were Kendra Ward, Erin Masterson, Amanda Odom and Tracy Elgin.

“We had great support from the community, the school and the parents,” Ward said.

The competition was open to students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Ward said the biggest age group was the third- through fifth-graders.

Riverhill’s team won the kindergarten through second-grade division. The Vina Devilbots won the third- through fifth-grade division. The Red Bay Tigerbots won the sixth- through eighth-grade division.