A robot capable of tossing a 24-inch exercise ball was built by a team of 45 students from Servite, Rosary and Cornelia Connelly high schools.

The coalition – collectively known as the Friarbots – will bring their metal creation to FIRST Robotics World Championships, set for April 23-26 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis.

Even though the Friarbots placed seventh among 66 teams during a regional competition held last month in Long Beach, the team was able to advance to the championship round because it was presented with an “Engineering Inspiration” award for teaching local middle school students about the importance of robotics, engineering and science.

“Sometimes we worked until 1 a.m., so I’m really happy that we’re advancing this year,” said Michael Stump, a 17-year-old junior at Servite High and president of the Friarbots.

The team spent six weeks designing, programming and building its robot, which stands 31/2 feet tall and weighs just shy of 120 pounds. Most of the work is done after school in a house owned by Servite High, located near the campus.

This year’s challenge required students to build a robot capable of tossing a 24-inch exercise ball into a rectangular goal that’s eight feet off the ground, Stump said. Extra points are given if the robot is able to successfully pass the ball to robots built by competing high school teams.

This was the team’s fifth year competing, but the first time that it will attend the FIRST Robotics World Championships, said Brian O’Neill, a Servite physics teacher who serves as the team’s faculty adviser. The team was awarded a $5,000 grant from NASA to help defray costs.

“Every year we get stronger as a team, so I think that advancing to the next level validates all of the hard work that we’re doing,” O’Neill said. “To be honest, this isn’t about the robot. It’s about how we come together as a team.”

Contact the writer: 714-704-3769 or amarroquin@ocregister.com