Canterbury Robotics: A Well-Oiled Machine

Our Robotics team—the CyberSaints—was geared up and ready to roll for competition this year, and they did not disappoint! The crew posted an outstanding 7-3 record in qualifier play at the Connecticut First Tech Challenge Wolcott and Windsor events. At the latter competition, the team performed well enough in playoff matches to earn an invitation to the FTC State Championship on February 17 at the University of Connecticut!

Kudos to our talented and hard-working Robotics team:

Riley Greene ’25, Co-Captain
Ziyi “Owen” Wang ’24, Co-Captain
Yuxuan “Bob” Chen ’27
Ella de Marval ’25
David Peng ’27
Yutong “Coco” Zhou ’27

Although they did not get a win at States, team members have every reason to hold their heads high after an extraordinary run. The fact that all but Riley and Owen were in their first year of robotics made the feat even more impressive. Owen and Riley have been part of the program since they were Third Form students. 

As one of those first-year competitors, Ella was elated to be a part of the team’s success. “I was not expecting that we could get this far. It is exciting,” she said. “I love seeing the other teams’ robots because they are all so different. And ours is good, too!” 

The chance to compete on championship weekend was the perfect culmination of Owen’s four years in Robotics. “I enjoyed seeing the team grow and keep learning,” he shared. “When I heard we were invited to the championship, I did not think it was real at first. But after the news sunk in, I was excited. We really came through.”

Coach Rodrigo Avila Hernandez, who teaches Physics and Engineering at Canterbury, was thrilled that the team rose to the occasion. “It was amazing to see the students doing their best and putting in the effort for this,” he said. “I am so proud of all of them. There is a term that robotics organizations use—‘gracious professionalism’—and our students definitely exhibited those qualities.”

Everyone had a role, with Riley as the robot’s main operator and Owen doing the bulk of the coding. Their many weeks of afternoon practices together certainly paid off. “This season was a great achievement,” Riley said. “It could be a little nerve-wracking, but we had a blast and made many great memories.”

Congratulations to the CyberSaints for an exceptional showing on the competition stage.

VIEW PHOTOS