By Jon Chown
WATSONVILLE — Local students tied to the X Academy robotics program stood out at the MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition on April 25, taking top honors and continuing a streak of success for Santa Cruz County teams.
Held at the Watsonville High School pool, the all-day event brought together student teams from across California’s Central Valley, the Bay Area, Monterey County and beyond.
But it was the local X Academy teams—made up of Santa Cruz County students—that once again rose to the top in the underwater competition.
The winning team, Hephaestus Robotics from X Academy, earned first place after completing a series of underwater engineering challenges using remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs. A second X Academy team, Berrybotics, took third in the same division.
The victories add to an already strong track record for the X Academy program, which has quickly become one of the most competitive high school robotics pipelines in the region. Last year, the Hephaestus team from X Academy placed third at the international MATE ROV World Championship in Michigan for the second year in a row, competing against teams from 12 countries. This year the team will be attempting a top 3 finish for the third year in a row.
The regional competition challenges students to design, build and operate underwater robots to complete tasks modeled on real-world ocean science and engineering problems. This year’s theme focused on protecting aquatic ecosystems and advancing ocean research, aligning with global efforts under the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science.
Watsonville High’s Jesse Sherwood, advising the club for two years … they work throughout the year. Its really all the students, they do all the deisinggnig, building … They’re such an indpendt group … They can take what they do in the irclasse to some extent … skills that will help them in college and careers …
Students also competed as mock engineering companies, preparing technical reports, budgets, marketing materials and live presentations for judges. Panels included engineers, scientists, educators and marine technology professionals.
“They’re doing robotics, but its a compilation of software engineering, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering,” said Tim Madsen, who serves as a mentor to the club. “And then we actually have this marketing and design component alongside of it. They do an engineering presentation, kind of a corporate pitch of their product and they do some social media stuff also. So it’s a pretty complex endeavor overall and there’s minimum adult input.”
Across all divisions, teams were judged on ROV performance, teamwork, innovation and communication skills.
Other top finishers included Valley Christian School in San Jose and St. Francis High School in Mountain View, but it was the local X Academy students who dominated the Ranger Class podium:
RANGER Class
- 1st place: X Academy – Hephaestus Robotics
- 2nd place: Valley Christian School – Warrior Tides
- 3rd place: X Academy – Berrybotics
In addition to the Ranger Class wins, students from across the region competed in Navigator and Scout divisions, with St. Francis High School and Seven Hills School also earning top placements.
The program behind the winning teams is run through a partnership between Santa Cruz County Office of Education and X Academy. It gives students free, hands-on experience in robotics, engineering design and teamwork through weekly build sessions and mentorship from industry volunteers.
Program leaders say the consistent success is driven by returning students who help train newer members, building both technical skill and leadership over time.
The competition is part of the larger MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition, a global robotics program that sends top teams to the MATE World Championship each year.
This year’s regional winners will advance to the 2026 world finals in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada.
PHOTOS: Students compete in the MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition on April 25.