HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - Two Puerto Rican teams were declared winners in the high school and college divisions today in the 20th NASA Great Moonbuggy Race at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

Team 1 from Teodoro Aguilar Mora Vocational High School of Yabucoa won first place in the high school division; the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao claimed the college-division trophy.

The winning teams outraced more than 89 teams from 23 states, as well as Puerto Rico, Canada, India, Germany, Mexico and Russia. About 600 student drivers, engineers and mechanics - plus their team advisors and cheering sections - attended the annual "space race" held Friday and today.

Organized by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the race challenges students to design, build and race lightweight, human-powered buggies. The half-mile course simulates the cratered lunar surface so that race teams face many of the same engineering challenges dealt with by Apollo-era lunar rover developers at the Marshall Center in the late 1960s. The winning teams post the fastest vehicle assembly and race times in their divisions, with the fewest on-course penalties.

Race organizers presented both first-place winners with trophies depicting NASA's original lunar rover. Sponsor SAIC of Huntsville provided participating moonbuggys team with commemorative plaquez. Sponsor Lockheed Martin Corp. of Huntsville presented the first-place high school and college teams with cash awards of $3,000 each.

Individuals on the winning teams also received commemorative medals and other prizes.

High school division winners

The team from Teodoro Aguilar Mora School, in its third year in the competition, finished the half-mile course in 3 minutes, 24 seconds.

Jupiter High School's Team 1 of Jupiter, Fla., finished second and Jupiter High School's Team 2 finished third.

College division winners

The team from the University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, which won second place in the college division in the 2012 race, finished this year in 3 minutes, 32 seconds.

International Space Education Institute/Moscow Aviation University's "Team Russia" of Moscow won second place in the college division; and Middle Tennessee State University Team 1 of Murfreesboro took home third place.

Other awards and prizes

Neil Armstrong Best Design Award

(for solving engineering problems associated with lunar travel):

Academy of Arts, Careers & Technology in Reno, Nev.

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in Carbondale, Ill.

Featherweight Award

(for the lightest buggy on the track):

Escuela Superior Rafaelina E. Labron Flores in Patillas, Puerto Rico

Purdue University Calumet Team 1 in Hammond, Ind.

AIAA Telemetry and Electronics Award

(for the most innovative onboard data-gathering and delivery system):

Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering in Maharashtra, India

Frank Joe Sexton Memorial Pit Crew Award

(for ingenuity and persistence in overcoming problems during the race):

Fairhope High School Team 1 and Team 2 in Fairhope, Ala.

Texas A&M University-Kingsville in Kingsville, Texas

Crash and Burn Award

(for the team that endures the most spectacular vehicle breakdown):

Bevill State Community College Team 1 in Sumiton, Ala.

Spirit Award

(for overall team energy, enthusiasm and camaraderie):

Petra Mercado High School in Humacao, Puerto Rico

Rookie Award

(for fastest course completion by a new race team):

Escuela Superior Rafaelina E. Labron Flores in Patillas, Puerto Rico

North Dakota State University in Fargo

Most Improved Award

(for the most dramatically improved engineering and performance):

Huntsville Center for Technology Team 1 in Huntsville, Ala.

Middle Tennessee State University Team 1 in Murfreesboro

Best Report Award

(technical documentation of the equipment and procedures used in design, build, test and the results obtained)

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

System Safety Award

University of Alabama in Huntsville

Lunartic Award

(presented by AIAA to the team in each division that wins the Moon Bowl, a lunar science quiz)

New Britain High School in New Britain, Conn.

Accurate Institute of Management & Technology in Uttar Pradesh, India

Best Question of the Rover Pioneers Award

(for best question asked during at April 26 event with members of the original lunar rover team)

Cape Girardeau Career & Tech Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo. - Husan Wadi

Major corporate sponsors for the race are Lockheed Martin Corporation, The Boeing Company, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Aerojet and Jacobs Engineering ESSSA Group.

For more information about the race, visit http://moonbuggy.msfc.nasa.gov

Follow Kelly Kazek on Twitter. Email her at kkazek@al.com or call 256-701-0576 or find her on Facebook.