The Mathews High School Robotics Team 1137, known as Rocket Sauce, achieved its goal and qualified for the FIRST World Championship being held in St. Louis, Mo., in two weeks.

The team needs to raise at least $5,000 to fund its trip to this international competition and is asking for the community’s help, a release said.  

To earn the trip, the team achieved its first success in a Chesapeake District Event in mid-March, placing fifth in the rankings out of 35 teams. In late March, it soared to new heights, placing second in a second district event and won two awards: District Finalist and an Industrial Design Award from General Motors which celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge.

These successes qualified Rocket Sauce to advance to last weekend’s three-day FIRST Chesapeake District Championship competing with 58 teams from Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Rocket Sauce ranked in 12...