On Saturday, February 11, PCSST’s Mecha Lions competed in the League Tournament of the First Tech Challenge at Glen Rock High School.

The team was confident in their robot, with an improved arm and claw, but again, when they got to the venue, one of the motors stopped working and had to be replaced. It started off with a small motor replacement, but slowly turned into fixing parts on the arm, fixing the code, trying to get the new motors to work, and making sure everything was in check for the inspections to be able to compete.

It was a very tense experience, but we were lucky to have the team’s parents and siblings also join us for support and encouragement. It was really nice seeing the students work together with their parents and their coaches to compete in the rounds. One member’s father also used his background in engineering to make adjustments to the robot when necessary.

Because this was the final tournament in the region, we also had to present our engineering design process to a panel of judges. Ashly Guillen took the reins and explained to everyone how the robot was built and what the team plans on doing in the future. When it came to the competitions, Isaac DeDios took on the responsibility of coach, guiding the team on how to score the most points. Emir Talas has consistently been our go-to driver for all rounds, making sure the robot scores as many points as possible even with the limitations in our design. And of course, Aiden has been an integral part of the team as well, making adjustments to the robot wherever necessary, assisting with the claw and arm movements during matches, and also making a breakthrough on how to get the motors for the claw working again.

In the end, the students managed to compete one more time, racking up some points, bringing them up to 15th place in the league. Everyone’s efforts this season were commendable, and we are very proud of how far everyone has come this season. We look forward to seeing Mecha Lions grow and improve in the years to come, and with the dedication of our students and the support from their families, we are confident we will do much better next season.

Until next time,

Coaches Memon and Avendano