Coronado Unified School District’s FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team #26982, Sentinel, made school history this weekend by capturing the 1st Place Judges’ Award at the inaugural FTC Western Edge Premier Event. The victory marks the first international robotics award ever brought home to CUSD.
Competing at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, Sentinel went head-to-head against 88 elite teams representing 10 countries, including Romania, Kazakhstan, China, India, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Thailand, and Mexico. The milestone event marked the first time the FTC division was included in the internationally recognized Western Edge competition, showcasing top-tier innovation and engineering.
Sentinel earned its invitation to the prestigious tournament following a standout season, finishing among the top teams at the San Diego Regional Championship.
Led by Head Coach and CUSD Director of Robotics Roberta Lenert, the students spent months preparing for the global stage. The team members representing Sentinel at the competition included: Reed Karosich (Team Captain, Dean’s List Winner, & Mechanical Engineering Lead), Ashli Fabrey (Lead Outreach), Danielle-Elizabeth Mensah-Bah (Outreach Team Member), James Friedman (Drive Team), Porter Aston (Drive Team), Madison Brown (Business Team Lead), and Timmy Gilbert (Software Lead)
The historic achievement was also supported by dedicated team members Landon Ward, Annika Talavera, and Kylie Peterson, who helped Sentinel earn its tournament berth during the regular season.
The 1st Place Judges’ Award recognizes a team whose unique accomplishments, efforts, or team dynamics merit special recognition and stand out among the global competition.
“Competing against some of the greatest teams from around the world was both an honor and an inspiration,” said Lenert. “Our students demonstrated resilience, creativity, and professionalism throughout the competition, and we could not be more proud of the way they represented Coronado and CUSD on the global stage.”
The historic victory highlights the huge growth for CUSD robotics. “Our focus on providing opportunities for students in robotics has been intentional and in alignment with our Portrait of a Graduate initiative,” shared CUSD Superintendent Karl Mueller. With the addition of Roberta Lenert as the Director of Robotics for the district, this past school year CUSD fielded nine competitive robotics teams across elementary, middle, and high school levels, spanning all three FIRST programs (FLL, FTC, and FRC).
The CHS team’s historic run was made possible through the support of local and national sponsors, including the Coronado Schools Foundation, DoDEA, Mullins Orthodontics, Village Pizzeria, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Ramp Carnies, Nicolls Design Build, and HiTech Servos.
