PITTSBURGH — The Butler Catholic School robotic team garnered the second place award for programming in the first LEGO League Competition.

The contest, held Dec. 5 at the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Consortium in Lawrenceville, included 68 teams of middle school students.

Butler Catholic offers an elective robotics class for its seventh and eighth grade students. Fifth and sixth grade students can participate in an after-school Robotics Club.

This is the fourth year Butler Catholic has competed.

The team calls itself The Robo-pens. Team members are eighth grade students Jordan Camp, Daniel Cleary, Katelynn Kletzli, Matthew Patterson, Emma Preston, Tyler Protivnak and Tyler VanGrootenbruel; and seventh grade students, Nate Morgus, Anna Swartwout and Mallory Truax.

Science teacher Jayne Chobot coached the team.

The "Smart Move" Challenge this year required problem-solving skills, creative thinking and teamwork as the Robo-pens pitted their customized robots against other participants' entries.

The team now plans to compete in the May Madness contest at the Sarah Heinz House in Pittsburgh.