Robotics Teams Win Big at State

March 09, 2026 - 05:25 PM

The Mt. SAC Robotics program delivered an outstanding performance at the VEX U State Final Event on March 7. Emerging as the top-ranked community college at the event,  Mt. SAC demonstrated exceptional engineering, programming, and project management prowess against a highly competitive collegiate field.

The college was proudly represented by two formidable teams, both of which brought home prestigious, top-tier judged awards:

MTSAC1 (Design Award): Led by Santiago Garcia, MTSAC1 secured the highly coveted Design Award. In the VEX U program, the Design Award is one of the most rigorous judged honors, recognizing excellence in the Engineering Design Process, effective team organization, and professional documentation. To earn this award, a team must present a fully developed Engineering Notebook that clearly tracks their iterative journey from concept to execution, demonstrating exceptional time management, resource allocation, and clear communication during the judges' interview.

MTSAC2 (Think Award): Led by Amanda Chang, MTSAC2 was honored with the Think Award. This award is given to the team with the most consistent, elegant, and reliable autonomous programming solutions. Winning the Think Award requires teams to demonstrate cleanly written and well-commented code, effective version control, and a clear programming strategy for solving the season's game challenge. It also demands a strong, non-zero performance in the Autonomous Coding Skills Challenge.

“The dual victories highlight the rigorous technical preparation and student-centered innovation within the Mt. SAC engineering program,” said the team’s coach, Professor Martin Mason. “By taking home both the Design and Think awards, which represent the pinnacle of mechanical design and software execution, respectively, Mt. SAC has solidified its reputation as a powerhouse in collegiate robotics and set a high benchmark for community college representation in the international VEX U division.”