The robotics team, sponsored by Tony Cacciola, won fifth in the semifinals of the Capitol BEST Competition on Oct. 20.

The Capitol BEST Competition was held at Dripping Springs High School. B.E.S.T. stands for, Boosting Engineering, Science & Technology.

BEST has been around for many years but as many competitors said this year was challenging.

Each team makes a robot that can climb roughly 10 feet while maneuvering various items. Many robots fell and failed, but the team’s robot, named Quetzalcoatl, made it all the way to fifth.

PVC, wood, and duct tape don’t make for a conventional robot, but for the robotics team, it was almost perfect. The team agreed, Quetzalcoatl was a stubborn little robot but in the end he was amazing.

The pilots were seniors Mario Alanis, Andrew Hellinger, Dominic Keeling, sophomore Gregory Kadair and freshmen Nisarg Desai. Sophomores Matthew McClain and Zachary Parker were on launch crew. The team consisted of junior Shoukat Abida, freshmen Rachel Doye, sophomores Sarah Doye, Matthew Hakesley, Lulla Kiwinda, junior Michael Kowlessar and seniors Joshua Murley, Krishna Parikh and Austin Siu.

The team wanted to send a special thanks to all the BEST workers and robotics sponsor Tony Cacciola.