PCSST’s Mecha Lions Compete in a Sub-Zero Showdown
The PCSST Mecha Lions started the new season strong, as they made it to the semi-finals in their very first tournament.
On December 20th, as everyone else enjoyed their first day of the winter break, the Mecha Lions woke up bright and early to head to Cherry Hill High School East, to compete in the VEX V5 2025-26 challenge – Push Back. The venue was about two hours away from our own campus. We rushed to get to inspection, and after quickly fixing the intake so it was within the size constraints, the team was ready to compete.
Jorge Velazquez and Ashly Guillen Carlin were leading the team, with Mirely Guillen and Galillee Perez taking notes on strategy and design. Our driving team consisted of Jorge Velazquez, Christopher and Jordan Barahona, along with Aidan Davis, who was the main driver. Marcos Barahona and Mrs. Barahona had also joined us at the venue to support the team.
December is usually when teams are in their initial stages of robot designs. Our robot, Big Bertha, was a modified version of a VEX Hero Bot, but with good strategy and lots of adjustments after every other match, she was still able to power through the tournament. The team also managed to compete in the Driver Skills challenge, getting the Mecha Lions into the top ten for Skills.
The team displayed exemplary coordination and cooperation throughout the event, and returned inspired and full of ideas for the next tournament.
In the end, we would like to thank Cherry Hill High School East for inviting us for this tournament and accommodating us, all the parents for allowing the students to compete on short notice, and Mr. Same for taking us there. We would also like to recognize Emir Talas, Jamir Gomez, Emilio Manzo Vargas, Ryson Dennett-Davis, Alayna Reyes, Mathias Aguirre, and Isaac DeDios, who could not make it to the tournament, but were integral contributors to the robot’s design and code, as well as fundraising for the team.
– Coach Alizah Memon
