SAN BENITO — Joseph Saavedra kneeled over his team’s robot, facing the opponent across the white mat. But who was the opponent? Was it Hidekel Hernandez from Angela Leal Elementary, or the wheeled contraption made of Legos and a small electronic brain?
As soon as the announcer said, “Ready. One, two, three,” the answer was clear. Robot and student were working in tandem to push the other robot out of the black circle.
Joseph, 10, fought the good fight, but in the end the robot from Hidekel’s team won the day.
“I was so close,” said Joseph, a fourth grader at Dr. C.M. Cash Elementary who’d represented his team “Lord of the Ring” at the event.
The challenge at yesterday’s “Mindstorms Robotics Competition” was a Sumo Contest. The competition took place in the Veterans Memorial Academy gymnasium. The young competitors, 115 of them, came from eight elementary schools, two middle schools, Veterans Memorial Academy and San Benito High School. Students from the Cameron County Amador Rodriguez Boot Camp also competed.
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