Hephaestus Robotics wins 2nd! Heading to World Championships June 17-21 in MI

Eighteen determined high school students - and future engineers - overcame last-minute technical hurdles to place 2nd at the MATE ROV Monterey Regional Competition at the Ranger level, on Saturday, April 26 held at Watsonville High School, coming within 1.5 points of the first place winners, Geneseas of St. Francis High School of Sacramento. Hephaestus qualified to compete for the third year in a row at the MATE ROV World Championship at Alpena, Michigan, on the banks of Lake Huron, June 17 to 21, 2025.

We welcome donations to pay the travel costs for all students to be able to participate on the world stage

X Academy’s Navigator team, the Angry Otters, came in 3rd place. This team of freshman and sophomores from 6 area schools also placed 3rd with their oral engineering presentation.

The X Academy, in partnership with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, coached and mentored 3 teams of students from 14 schools across the County on Saturdays in Watsonville with the BerryBotics team and Sundays in Santa Cruz with the Hephaestus and Angry Otter teams. They were supported by 18 volunteer mentors, including engineers from Joby Aviation, Adobe, Google, Apple and Blue Robotics, alongside dedicated parents giving their time almost every weekend from September through May.