WATSONVILLE, California – A robotics team of high school students from across Santa Cruz County found success on the global stage, clinching third place at the MATE ROV Competition World Championship held in Kingsport, Tennessee, from June 20-22.

Competing against 38 high schools from 11 countries in the Ranger Class, the Hephaestus Robotics Team received perfect scores on their engineering presentation and marketing poster and earned 285 out of 370 points for the demonstration of their two robotics devices: ROV (remotely operated vehicle) "Talos IV" and float "Vulcan III."

"The team spent countless hours and late nights fixing the float and improving everything," said Sophia Caselleto, Mission Scientist and junior at Pacific Collegiate School. "From late-night Zoom meetings to countless hours practicing in the pool, we took every opportunity to practice, and it paid off. We placed 3rd internationally and it is so gratifying!"

Uriel Marinez-Uribe, a rising senior at Watsonville High who led the float team, credited the team’s success to perseverance and teamwork after the device failed during an initial demonstration.

“We never gave up,” Marinez-Uribe said. “We figured out the problem, fixed the code and the float worked perfectly on the second run! The collaboration and perseverance of everyone, even through the dreadful times of the float malfunctioning, is the cause of the success of our team and the Vulcan III.”

Consisting of 13 students from six Santa Cruz County high schools, the Hephaestus Robotics Team is part of the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs. The program is a partnership between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and the non-profit X Academy, launched at the start of the 2023-24 school year. It provides high school students from any school in the county the opportunity to learn to design and build an underwater robot, at no cost to participants.

MATE ROV competitions put these underwater robots to the test to complete real-world tasks, such as transplanting coral and creating 3D models of underwater objects. The Hephaestus Robotics Team qualified for the MATE ROV Competition World Championship after a standout performance at the regional MATE ROV Monterey Bay Regional Competition in May.

The members of the Hephaestus Robotics Team are:

• Daniel Fernandez, Co-CEO, Santa Cruz High graduate, attending Cabrillo College this fall

• Ben Hillard, Co-CEO, Santa Cruz High graduate, will be studying Physics at UCLA

• Uriel Marinez-Uribe, VP of Float, senior at Watsonville High School

• Bennet Menzer, VP of Engineering, senior at Santa Cruz High

• Blaise Benoit-Corey, Mission Scientist, senior at Santa Cruz High

• Sophia Casaletto, Mission Scientist, junior at Pacific Collegiate School

• Max Chen, ROV Pilot, Kirby School graduate, will be studying Computer Science at UC Davis

• Kai Herbst, ROV Software Engineer, Kirby School graduate

• Matt Hofman, Float Commander, senior at Soquel High School

• Nate Hofman, Float Commander, senior at Soquel High School

• Amber Williams, Float Hardware, sophomore at Pacific Collegiate School

• Cole Williams, Software Engineer, senior at Santa Cruz High

• Orlando Cazales Mendoza, Float Design Engineer, sophomore at Diamond Tech School

In its 22nd year, the MATE ROV Competition World Championship convened 82 teams of qualifiers from 17 countries, including the USA, Canada, Scotland, Mexico, UAE, Italy, Poland, Germany, Turkey, Macau, Hong Kong, China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, France, and Uganda. The competition is designed to push students to the forefront of underwater technology, featuring tasks such as deploying advanced ocean observing assets for data collection and installing state-of-the-art submarine telecommunications cables.

The non-profit X Academy was founded in 2014 by parent volunteers Tim Sylvester and Barbara Meister to provide STEM enrichment for middle and high school students in Santa Cruz County. X Academy and the Santa Cruz COE launched the countywide Robotics Clubs in 2023 to expand access to this level of enrichment to all interested high school students.

"The process these students went through is very similar to a Silicon Valley startup company and they built an ROV that is similar in function and quality to a commercial product. They are well on their way to becoming engineers," said Sylvester. "Our partnership working with the COE has been inspiring and entrepreneurial. From our first meeting to the start of the program it took less than four months to create powerful learning experiences.”

Starting in October, 52 students from 17 local schools – including every comprehensive high school in Santa Cruz County – met weekly at Sequoia High School in Watsonville on Saturdays and on Sundays at the X Academy Makerspace in Santa Cruz. Fourteen volunteer mentors led students through a series of workshops teaching the fundamentals of software programming, electrical and mechanical engineering.

“The success of the Hephaestus Robotics Team is not only a testament to students’ technical skills, it is a demonstration of their ability to collaborate and think critically to solve complex, real-world problems,” said Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah. “Congratulations to the team on this outstanding accomplishment, and thank you to the X Academy and the mentors who supported the team at every step!”

For more information about the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs, visit cs.santacruzcoe.org/robotics.

About the Santa Cruz County Office of Education

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE) is a public agency striving to lead an equitable and innovative education system for all Santa Cruz County students. Under the leadership of Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Faris Sabbah, the Santa Cruz COE accomplishes this mission by convening education leaders to catalyze systemic change, providing support and oversight to 10 public school districts, and offering a range of arts, environmental education, child development, career and technical education, and instructional programs and services directly to students from birth through age 24 and beyond. For more information, visit santacruzcoe.org.

About the X Academy

The X Academy is a Santa Cruz 501(c)(3) non-profit organization offering STEM enrichment programs to middle and high school students since 2014. Its robotics teams have consistently performed well in competitions, and the Academy's flagship program, the Santa Cruz Math Circle, has engaged nearly 400 students from 26 schools. The X Academy is hosting a first-ever Summer Math Circle Camp July 8-12 in collaboration with PVUSD Expanded Learning. For more information, visit xacademy.org