Feb. 27, 2025
KC First Lego League Greater Kansas City Region Champions
The Golden Seals, a team comprising of students from California Trail and Chisholm Trail Middle School, recently won the KC First Lego League competition and is advancing to the World Championship! The Greater Kansas City Region Champions award recognizes the team that embodies the FIRST LEGO League experience by fully embracing our Core Values while achieving excellence and innovation in both the robot game and the project.
The Golden Seals include the following team members:
- Amritha Krishnakumar - California Trail Middle School
- Caspian Karstens - California Trail Middle School
- Hosanna Kiruthi - California Trail Middle School
- Larisa Zarrabi - California Trail Middle School
- Natalie Gettya - Chisholm Trail Middle School (part-time)
- Nicholas Tuzhilov - California Trail Middle School
Team Mentor - Anjali Krishnakumar, sophomore, Olathe North High School
Team Coaches - Suneethi Kuruppath and Nate Karstens
The FIRST LEGO League educational program provides preschool and school-aged children with an ideal introduction to research, engineering, and programming. It sparks early interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) while fostering teamwork and communication skills. Each year, participants explore exciting topics such as recycling, energy, transportation, and urban development. Through ongoing, age-appropriate challenges, we deliver sustainable and impactful STEM education that inspires and empowers children and young people over the long term.
West Student Athlete Named 2024-2025 Gatorade Kansas Boys’ Cross-Country Player of the Year
In its 40th year of honoring the nation’s most elite high school athletes, Gatorade announced Braxton Theel, Olathe West High School senior, as their 2024-2025 Gatorade Kansas Boys’ Cross-Country Player of the Year. The Gatorade Player of the Year is the top honor in high school sports, celebrating the nation’s best high school athletes for their success on the field, in the classroom and in the community. This award distinguishes Theel as Kansas’ best high school boys' cross-country athlete!
Olathe Northwest High School Dance Team National Champions
The Olathe Northwest High School Dance Team recently returned from the national competition in Orlando, Florida, bringing home multiple top honors! They earned national championships in two categories, secured second and fourth place finishes, and were named Co-Grand National Champions. This latest achievement adds to their incredible legacy, now boasting 31 National Championships and six Grand Champion titles. Coach Shannon Storer reflected on the team's success, noting that while technical skill is important, she’s realized that a strong team culture plays an even greater role in achieving excellence. Since 2012, Olathe Northwest has won the grand championship six times and received 26 individual event awards.
