The RHS Robotics team won the Sportsmanship Award at the Vex Robotics California Region 3 State Championship at CSU Bakersfield on March 15.

The team, who competed against numerous well-seasoned opponents, included Isabella Yancey, Nathan Quesada, Aiden Yancey, Krystian Zarate, and Jaden Samuel.

“We are very happy we managed to make so much progress from our first competition in October where we did not do very well, to now where we made it to state and brought home a trophy. We all worked hard every day, and we have come so far. We did better than expected at state as we made it to the final rounds and unfortunately faced technical issues during the bracket rounds. Personally, our class inspired me to follow a career in mechatronics. I think we were awarded the Sportsmanship Award for our attitude towards the competition and our teamwork. We came into the competition with intent to have fun, helped them when they needed it, and we got help from them as well. We became good friends with other teams,” said student Isabella Yancey.

“Despite having limited hours each week to build, program, and test our robot, we managed to make it to state in our first year. Our team’s perseverance, along with Delta’s advice and support, helped us accomplish things we didn’t even consider possible for us. I am extremely grateful for my team, Delta, and teacher/coach for getting as far as we did. The connections and memories our team made were more than worth it,” student Nathan Quesada said.

Warrior Math Teacher Shiffa Iqbal added, “They worked with and learned from students at Delta many times leading up to their first competition in October and are grateful to have had that opportunity. Our team is now considering careers in engineering pathways as they now have an increased interest.”