The Southern High School Dolphins robotics team represented Guam at the VEX V5 Robotics Competition in California, finishing 14th out of 28 teams nationwide.
“I feel proud about my team. They work really hard, and without our teamwork and dedication, we wouldn’t have made it there,” said Joshua Sabejon, senior and captain of the team. “We were just there to show up. But once we started winning matches, I was like, okay, we can actually compete against schools that were here a few years ago.”
The pressure of being captain wasn’t lost on Sabejon.
“Yeah, it was kind of nerve-wracking since I was the team captain, and I tried to make sure everything was good so that we were ready for the competition.”
Co-captain Michael Reyes was also surprised by their placement.
“Us placing there was surprising. We managed to make sure that our other half of the team got filled in with our plan,” he said. “We made sure that we combined as one team, and we managed to get a lot of wins from that.”
Preparation for the competition began in November. Despite challenges like balancing school work and transportation issues, the team remained dedicated.
Challenges
Reflecting on the competition’s challenges, Sabejon recalled a tough moment in the alliance round.
“The only thing that bummed us out was the chain snapping…We placed last. Yeah, since, at the start of the match, the other team was ramming into our robot, which messed up the chain, so towards the end, the chain snapped, and we couldn’t get anywhere after that.”
Programming proved to be another challenge for the team.
“At first, we were like, how do we program? But then once we got it down, we started to get better at it,” Sabejon said. “The Samoan team helped us learn how to program, which pretty much helped us get a lot of points up.”
He also appreciated the camaraderie with teams from California, including the GW Warriors from San Francisco and Mount Miguel High School from San Diego. “It was a pretty cool experience because we got to learn new things, meet new people, and it made us better.”
Sabejon said while the team didn’t place where they wanted to be, the goal was to show up and represent.
The team has now been named the first alternate for nationals.
“The main goal is just to continue programming, try to build our other robot, which is the Disco,” he said. “And overall, just keep learning new things as we progress and get better at robotics.”
Cherished trip
Sabejon also cherished the trip to California.
“It was a dream because my main goal is to travel the world and have fun,” he said. “Overall, it was pretty fun because we met new people. We got to learn new things. It was cold, like 45 degrees. I like the cold pretty much. But overall, we had an amazing time.”
The team had the chance to explore local attractions, such as the Air and Space Museum and Liberty Station.
“We went to the Air and Space Museum, which was pretty cool because we got to see all the planes from World War II and World War I. We also went to the outlet next to the Mexico border and experienced the local culture,” he said.
The team said they learned valuable lessons about competition.
“Our biggest takeaway is that we’re not gonna underestimate each team, even if their robots are simple, like ours. They’re there to compete,” Reyes said.
Reyes remains motivated despite the Dolphins finishing lower than their fellow island team, the George Washington High Warrior Battalion, which joined the competition for the very first time.
“You know, GW, respect on them. I actually made good friends with them,” he said. “All we did for Southern is we tried our best to give ourselves a name.”
Being first alternate was a significant achievement, the Dolphins said.
“I’m very prideful about that,” Reyes said. “Knowing that GW placed higher and we’re first alternate means they saw a lot from us in this competition.”
New to the team
Frederick Ziegler, a sophomore and JROTC cadet, was selected to join the robotics team despite not being part of the original group. His prior experience with Lego robotics helped prepare him for the challenge.
As the youngest member, Ziegler wasn’t intimidated by the age difference.
“A few years’ difference in age and in grade is not an ultra intimidating factor for me,” he said. “It’s my first time; there’s no such thing as a bad learning experience.”
The competition, however, was intimidating, especially against teams like American Samoa.
“They had a gnarly robot that can go autonomous. They’re so skilled,” Ziegler said. “But they were friendly and helped us with programming.”
Ziegler described his first trip to California as an eye-opening experience, noting the cultural shift.
“We have this nuanced ‘don’t rock the boat’ culture here, and seeing a blue state like California was a big shift,” he said.
While the rest of the team competed, junior Elizjah Camacho remained on Guam due to personal reasons. Despite his absence, he helped build the robot and cheered on his teammates from afar.
“I couldn’t go for personal reasons, and I couldn’t make it in time to get everything in order,” Camacho said. “I was always hyping them up. I was just texting them, cheering them on from Guam.”
Teacher’s perspective
Science teacher Jude Mesa, the robotics team instructor who also went with the students to California, said he’s proud of the team’s representation of Guam.
“We’re not in the so-called top five or top 10, but we’re not that far off from where they’re at,” he said.
Mesa emphasized the importance of showing up and representing Guam.
“Our robots are our robots. What are we gonna do, not show up? We have to show up, and we have to try,” he reassured the team.
Mesa also believed that their first match boosted the team’s confidence.
“It just took that one match for them to really change their perspective,” he added.
