PCS Students Take Third Place in International Robotics Competition!
Aug 18, 2025 | by Ildi Carlisle-Cummins
Over the summer four PCS Students-- Daphne Bingham, Amber Williams, Julia Tick and Sophia Casaletto-- helped lead a county-wide robotics team to third place in the prestigious MATE ROV Competition World Championship held in Alpena, Michigan. This was the second year in a row that The Hephaestus Robotics Team (part of the Santa Cruz COE X Academy Robotics Clubs), placed in the top three in this competition.
PCS senior and Hephaestus Robotics Team CEO Sophia Casaletto described the experience this way “Collaboration and perseverance are qualities that this team consistently exemplifies, and they were the qualities that allowed us to win. This experience has been pivotal for me as a person, an engineer, and as a leader. It taught me how powerful a motivated, collaborative team can be, and I’ll carry that with me long after the competition. I am so proud of this team and of everyone’s contributions and growth.”