Middle School Scores at National SeaPerch Challenge

Two Northumberland Middle School students, Luke Swann and Chase Kitchen, competed in the National SeaPerch Challenge at Louisiana State University and scored in the tough competition. Sixth-grader Luke and seventh-grader Chase qualified for the Nationals at the District Competition at UMW in April. They were eager to take their under-water remote operated vehicle (ROV) to the pool at LSU.

Calling themselves “Team Green Marine”, because they modified their SeaPerch ROV to be Indians Green and Gold, the boys competed in three portions of the overall challenge, including the poster/presentation, an underwater orbs challenge, and an underwater rings obstacle course. They made the Top 10 finalists, placing seventh out of 96 middle school teams for their poster/presentation portion (See photo) of the competition. They placed 18th overall among competitors from huge schools and teams from Texas, Hawaii, Australia, Cayman Islands, New Jersey, and more. Luke and Chase said that they were thrilled with their outcome and are already thinking about how to make their ROV faster and better next year.

They gave huge thanks to their coordinator , Shauna McCranie, the NCPS School Board Office, the Middle School, Dahlgren, and families and friends plus NAPS which was also a contributor to the cost of making the trip to LSU.

Holly Swann is the Counseling Office Admin. Asst. and Registrar at Northumberland High School