Westmont College students Benjamin Mandani, left, and Isaac Silva take home gold in the annual remote control car competition with their car named Nesi, a combination of parts of their names.
Westmont College students Benjamin Mandani, left, and Isaac Silva take home gold in the annual remote control car competition with their car named Nesi, a combination of parts of their names. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

A Westmont College lawn transformed into a speedway last week for the annual remote control car competition. 

Students walking to class by Kerrwood Lawn on Thursday had to be wary of remote control cars coming for their ankles as third-year students in the Machine Design class in the Engineering Department practiced driving their self-made cars.

After receiving a 500-part kit and spending about 40 hours on their cars over the span of 10 weeks, students were ready to go head-to-head against their classmates. 

The competition was split into three categories: a 90-second elevator pitch to the team’s cars, a head-to-head race around a figure eight track, and a jump off a wooden ramp. 

Westmont College President Gayle Beebe, Provost Kimberely Battle-Walters and department chair Dan Jensen were this year’s judges for the elevator pitches, and the rest of the competition was based on how well the cars performed. 

“The idea behind the remote control car is that they are learning how to do a kind of geeky part analysis like how long will a gear last inside the car,” Jensen said. 

One of Jensen’s goals of the day was to make Beebe laugh, which quickly happened as Beebe watched some cars collide with each other as they tried to race around the track.

“This is one of my favorite events,” Beebe said. 

Juniors Gizela Zermeno, Kassy Guinto and Kailey Hwang nervously test-drove their car, Pink Lightning, around the course before the competition started.

Kassy Guinto, a student in the Machine Design class at Westmont College, fixes her team's car, Pink Lightning, minutes before the competition begins.
Kassy Guinto, a student in the Machine Design class at Westmont College, fixes her team’s car, Pink Lightning, minutes before the competition begins. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

They were just one of seven teams in the competition, as well as the only all-female team. 

“I feel like as the only team with women on it, we kind of have a tiny bit of extra skin in the game of wanting to prove that we can do this,” Hwang said. 

They won one of the head-to-head rounds, eliciting a loud cheer from the large group of spectators that the competition drew onto the lawn. 

The last category, the car jump, also generated excitement from the viewers as teams launched their cars off of a wooden ramp, seeing who got the farthest.

“It was a mix of ‘Is it going to hit?’ and the idea was that I was going to ease into it while also trying to go as fast as possible and also a matter of luck,” junior Benjamin Mandani said.

Isaac Silva, left, competes with Zachary Haring-Kaye and Aidan Pink in a head-to-head race around a figure-eight track.
Isaac Silva, left, competes with Zachary Haring-Kaye and Aidan Pink in a head-to-head race around a figure-eight track. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

Mandani and his project partner, junior Isaac Silva, ended up taking home gold with their car named Nesi, two letters of their names mashed together. 

“It feels unreal,” Mandani said, holding his golden trophy. 

Beebe announced to the winners they also had won $2,500 to use within the Engineering Department. 

Department chair Dan Jensen, right, shares the competition results with Westmont College President Gayle Beebe before announcing the winners of the remote control car competition.
Department chair Dan Jensen, right, shares the competition results with Westmont College President Gayle Beebe before announcing the winners of the remote control car competition. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

Silva said he hopes to use the money to support his fellow classmates or purchase equipment such as a 3D printer. 

“We have a lot of projects going on behind the scenes that a lot of people don’t even know about because as engineers you’re supposed to create,” he said. 

The competition also comes after the college’s engineering program earned full Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology in September, according to Scott Craig, manager of media relations at Westmont College.

The Machine Design class of juniors at Westmont College are ready to go head-to-head in the Engineering Department's annual remote control car race last Thursday.
The Machine Design class of juniors at Westmont College are ready to go head-to-head in the Engineering Department’s annual remote control car race last Thursday. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

The accreditation helps boost the prestige of the department, according to Craig. 

While weeks of hard work and practice came to an end after an hour of racing, the winners highlighted that it was an accomplishment for everyone, not just them.  

“Everybody works so hard to be here, and it would be a real shame to go out there and say, well, it’s because we tried harder,” Mandani said.

Pricila Flores is a Noozhawk staff writer and California Local News Fellow. She can be reached at pflores@noozhawk.com.