Six Thomas Jefferson Elementary School fifth-graders known as the Brick Beasts put on a strong performance in their first trip to the FIRST LEGO League VA/DC State Championship Tournament.

The team, which included James Trombo, Chris Goodwin, Dmitri Modell, Daniel Trauberman, Jonathan Oppenheimer, and Alec Autor, earned top marks at the state tournament for its project on tsunamis and evacuation strategies in the research portion of the competition. Other judging areas included robot design and programming, robot performance, and Core Values (friendly competition and gracious professionalism).

Winner of a special FLL Judges Award at a regional competition in November, the Brick Beasts earned the opportunity to advance to the state finals. Coached by parents Amy Trombo, Jon Modell and Ari Autor, the team was self-sponsored.

In all, local students on three City of Falls Church FLL teams (two from Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School) moved on to the state finals with a fourth, MEH’s Toaster Rebellion, named as an alternate.