By HENRY HSIA
STAFF WRITER
Robotics competed in the Los Angeles E and C1 Interleague Tournament on Feb. 10.
The day-long tournament, held at Monrovia HS, involved approximately thirty teams. Robotics advanced to the finals of the tournament but failed to win.
For the 2018 to 2019 season, Los Angeles high schools are divided into regions A through E. In three previous league meets, Robotics has competed with nearby schools such as Walnut and Diamond Bar HS in League E. Heading into the E and C1 Interleague Tournament ranked ninth, Robotics came out of the meet ranked first.
According to team captain senior Alex Arteaga, the team’s positivity and dedication resulted in its impressive performance.
“We had multiple newcomers [who presented] this year, [and even though] the first practices were not what we wanted, everyone [made time for as many] practices as possible,” Arteaga said. “Everyone was enthusiastic and kept positive, [allowing us to recover from weak performances during] the first meets of the season.”
Similarly, outreach captain junior Jessica Lam attributes the team’s success to its dedication.
“We had a strong robot outreach and journal, which were main components [of the competition],” Lam said. “We were able to get our point across [and show the judges] that we really care about what we do.”
In addition, coach Jung Han believes his team achieved its goal and performed as expected.
“We prepared ourselves well [before the start] of the season by making sure we had the engineering design process done, and everyone knew their roles for the competition,” Han said.
Robotics’ next event is the Southern California Los Angeles Regional Championship on Mar. 9. If Robotics places in the top eight out of fifty teams, it will advance to the World Championships in Houston, Texas, in Apr.
