

(L-R, Coach Hope Broucek, Owen Tiffany, Graham Hyland, Colby Smith, Aidan Grambihler, mentor Alex Miller)

Thanks to Lai Wong-Smith for the photos and report:

A West Seattle team is headed to the International Competition for MATE ROV (Marine Advanced Technology Education remotely operated underwater vehicle) after winning the Pacific Northwest Regional Competition (Saturday) with their underwater robot! The Junior Huskies took first place in the Ranger division at the Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center with tough competition from teams throughout the region.

The independent team is comprised of four West Seattle 8th graders who attend Washington Middle School – Aidan Grambihler, Colby Smith, Graham Hyland, and Owen Tiffany. The team has known each other since Lafayette Elementary days when they played soccer together and built robots with Legos. Last year, their first year in the competition, they took first place at the Scout level. This year they jumped two divisions to the more advanced Ranger level competing with high school teams. Their mentor is Alex Miller, a West Seattle high school senior who won the International competition in 2015. A special thanks to their coach Hope Broucek for her dedication, and Alex Williams for his engineering guidance.

The international competition is in Long Beach, California, June 23-25th. This year’s competition theme is based on PORT CITIES OF THE FUTURE: Commerce, Entertainment, Health, and Safety. For more info on MATE and the competition, go here.