The Marianas High School Dolphins work on their robot during the 8th Brigade Robotics Competition in San Diego, California on Feb. 1, 2025.
With their instructor, retired Sgt. First Class Albert Lujan, the Marianas High School Dolphins pose for photo during the 8th Brigade Robotics Competition in San Diego, California on Feb. 1, 2025.
MARIANAS High School Dolphins, representing the CNMI, made “an amazing” debut at the 8th Brigade Robotics Competition in San Diego, California on Feb. 1, 2025.
They ranked 22nd out of 38 high school teams from California, Hawaii, American Samoa, the CNMI and Guam. Hawaii’s St. Louis School finished first, American Samoa’s Tafuna High School placed second, and Nevada’s Galena High School came in third.
Presented by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation, the annual event was held this year at the Liberty Station Conference Center. There, the teams of students demonstrated their skills in science, technology, engineering, and math or STEM, competing for honors that rewarded excellence in design and the impact of their entries on the community.
“It was an amazing experience for me to go off-island with my team and compete as the operator of our Army robotic team,” said Jeremy Sandoval, an MHS senior student, who is completing his last year with the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps.
Summer Yu, the team captain, said, “It was a really good experience since it was our first time to be in San Diego and some of us have never traveled to the States before.”
The competition, she added, “was really good, and I think we did pretty well [considering] it was our first time going off-island for this type of competition.”
The robotics event took place on a 12’ x 12’ square field, with two alliances — one tagged as “red” and the other as “blue” — each composed of two teams competing in matches. A match consisted of a 15-second autonomous period followed by a 1-minute, 45-second driver-controlled period. The objective of the game was to achieve a higher score than the opposing alliance by scoring rings on stakes, placing mobile goals, and climbing at the end of the match.
Collaborating with their alliance partners, Yu said they used their robots to collect donuts and transport them to another location.
She said their focus was on designing and modifying robots “to complete specific tasks while fostering a supportive environment that emphasizes teamwork, communication, and leadership.”
Through their participation, she added, they gained “hands-on experience that enhances problem-solving abilities” and prepares them for future challenges.
She said their trip was fully funded by the U.S. Army’s 8th Brigade.
Belle Oval, a junior student and the team’s designer, said the 8th Brigade covers states and jurisdictions that include the CNMI, Guam, American Samoa, California, Hawaii, Alaska, Washington state and Oregon.
In the days leading up to the event, Yu said, “my team and I poured multiple days and hours into designing, building, and programming our robot. We brainstormed designs, prototyped mechanisms, and refined our code, all while documenting our process in our engineering notebook.”
Maxine Candace, the team builder, said in creating their robot, “we really touched on science, all of the economic stuff, and … a lot of engineering ….”
She added, “Since this was our first time, we didn’t have a lot, but within the two months that we collaborated with each other we were able to figure out structures, robotics system and a lot of electronics.”
Robert Riggillo, a sophomore and the team programmer, said, “It was kind of intimidating because I lacked a lot of experience, but I had fun overall.”
According to their instructor, retired Sgt. First Class Albert Lujan, they will compete again next year.