The Hephaestus Robotics Team, a group of high school students in the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs, earned first place in the Ranger Class at the 2026 MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition on Saturday, April 25, securing a spot at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship.
The team now advances to the world championship, scheduled for June 25-27, 2026, in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, marking Hephaestus Robotics’ third consecutive trip to the world competition and building on its record of success against top student underwater robotics teams from around the world.
The regional competition, held at Watsonville High School, challenged students to design, build, and pilot remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, to complete mission-based tasks inspired by real-world marine technology and environmental challenges. This year’s competition focused on technologies that can operate in cold, dynamic, and extreme environments, reflecting ocean and cryospheric conditions tied to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences.
“We started with a lot of new members from eight different high schools across Santa Cruz County and had some serious learning to do — not only in engineering, but also in working cohesively as a team,” said Julia Tick, a junior at Pacific Collegiate school and the Chief Operating Officer of Hephaestus Robotics. “With a changed onboarding, a better decision, records and communication system, the weeks of building and testing and the big push at the end for practicing and strategizing helped us get through as a team.”
Hephaestus is made up of 25 students from nine high schools: Pacific Collegiate, Sequoia High, Soquel High, Santa Cruz High, Scotts Valley High, Notre Dame Belmont High, Pajaro Valley High, Sapphire School, and Kirby School. It was one of two Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs teams to place in the Ranger Class. Berrybotics, a team of 18 students from mostly Watsonville-area schools, earned third place, while Valley Christian School’s Warrior Tides placed second.
“My journey with the Berrybotics team finished with a great achievement,” said Kurihani Carbajal-Vega, a Watsonville High School senior who plans to major in engineering. “I’m glad to have learned and grown so much on this team and to receive third place as a team. This achievement demonstrated all the hard work and dedication the team put into the competition.”
The Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs are a partnership between the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and nonprofit X Academy. The program gives high school students from across the county hands-on experience in engineering, computer science, teamwork, entrepreneurship, and project management, at no cost to participants.
In the MATE ROV program, students operate as mock companies, developing technical reports, engineering presentations, budgets, marketing displays, and working ROVs that are evaluated by professionals in science, engineering, education, and marine technology.
“Congratulations to the Hephaestus Robotics Team, Berrybotics, Aptos High, Watsonville High, and all of the students who represented our community in this rigorous engineering competition,” said Dr. Faris Sabbah, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools. “Their success reflects ingenuity, hands-on learning, and teamwork, as well as our region’s strong partnerships that connect students to real-world opportunities in science and technology.”
Santa Cruz County teams also earned recognition in the engineering presentation category, which required students to deliver a 15-minute verbal justification of their design choices and respond to questions from a panel of industry professionals. Aptos High School’s Kepler ROV won first place in the Ranger Class engineering presentation category, followed by Valley Christian School’s Warrior Tides.
“This program gives students a rare opportunity to take on real engineering challenges as part of a team, and the results speak for themselves,” said Tim Sylvester, founder of X Academy. “Hephaestus has continued to grow because students mentor one another, solve problems under pressure, and keep raising the bar for what they can accomplish.”
The MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition is one of many regional events worldwide organized by the Marine Technology Society’s MATE ROV Competition. Winning teams from regional events advance to the international championship, which will be hosted this year by the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University and the National Research Council Canada.
To learn more about the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs, visit cs.santacruzcoe.org/robotics.
2026 MATE ROV Monterey Bay Regional Award Winners
Ranger Class
1st place: Hephaestus Robotics – Santa Cruz COE X Academy
2nd place: Valley Christian School Warrior Tides
3rd place: Berrybotics – Santa Cruz COE X Academy
Navigator Class
1st place: St. Francis High School Narwhals (Sacramento)
2nd place: Western Sierra OCTO Tech
3rd place: Valley Christian School Warrior Waves
Scout Class
1st place: St. Francis Jr. Troubies (Sacramento)
2nd place: Seven Hills School Jaguar Engineering Solutions
3rd place: Seven Hills School Jaguar Underwater Innovation
Engineering Presentation Winners
Ranger Class
1st place: Aptos High School Kepler ROV
2nd place: Valley Christian School Warrior Tides
Navigator Class
1st place: Valley Christian School Warrior Waves and St. Francis High School Narwhals
Scout Class
1st place: St. Francis High Jr. Troubies
2nd place: Seven Hills School Jaguar Engineering Solutions
Hephaestus Robotics Team Members
Sarah Bost, Santa Cruz High
Daphne Bingham, Pacific Collegiate
Beatrice Campbell, Pacific Collegiate
Sophia Casaletto, Pacific Collegiate
Ian Chen, Pacific Collegiate
Ethan Chuan, Scotts Valley High
Rowan Delander, Sapphire School
Evan Gaylord, Pacific Collegiate
Isaac Guihaire, Santa Cruz High
Sam Imahara, Kirby School
Raul Lopez, Pajaro Valley High
Nathanael Marcus, Soquel High
Johnny Mattson, Santa Cruz High
Cristo Melchor, Soquel High
Aditya Menon, Pacific Collegiate
Nico Mora-Shulman, Pacific Collegiate
Carlos Ortiz-Lopez, Sequoia High
Oscar Pasotti-Schoenman, Santa Cruz High
Joaquin Payet, Santa Cruz High
Julia Saarnio, Notre Dame Belmont High School
Vikram Sathish, Pacific Collegiate
Julia Tick, Pacific Collegiate
Roy Wainshal, Santa Cruz High
Amber Williams, Pacific Collegiate
Elle Williams, Santa Cruz High