Middleton Magnet High School students are building a legacy of champions on a global level.
They beat 127 teams from around the world to be named the 2012 First Tech Challenge world champions and broke the world record for highest score.
“We knew Florida was a really competitive state, so I knew we had a leg up because of that," team captain Jason Howard said. "We figured we would do fairly well at the world competition.”
But Team Masquerade did better than fairly well at the competition in Missouri.
“Even though there were people on our team with experience, our team was still considered a rookie team because it was our first year," freshman Lauren Slack said. "But we managed it somehow."
“It was a lot of pressure - a lot of making sure you know what’s going on and having to do things at just the right time," team coach Adam Ward said. "You can’t mess up because you might cost the team.”
The team of freshmen and sophomores racked up dozens of awards throughout the year on both the state and national level. They say the pressure was on, but they always knew what was at stake.
The school plans to have two teams compete on the world level next year.