Oroville Robotics: Two teams, two tournaments, two championships

OHS Robotics competed in tournament play at CWU, winning three trophies, including Tournament Champion, adding to their expanding awards cache.

By Gazette-Tribune • March 9, 2026 12:00 pm
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Above left, Central Washington University Mechanical Engineering Technology Professor Charles Pringle and the nine teams that competed in the robotics tournament in Ellensburg. Above right, The Oroville Robotics competitors at the recent CWU Robotics Tournament, l-r Travis Darley, eighth grade; Erin Gimello, junior; Jaxon Darley, sophomore; Kwani Harding, junior and Elias DeFord, senior. Submitted photos
Above left, Central Washington University Mechanical Engineering Technology Professor Charles Pringle and the nine teams that competed in the robotics tournament in Ellensburg. Above right, The Oroville Robotics competitors at the recent CWU Robotics Tournament, l-r Travis Darley, eighth grade; Erin Gimello, junior; Jaxon Darley, sophomore; Kwani Harding, junior and Elias DeFord, senior. Submitted photos

ELLENSBURG – On Saturday, Feb. 28, Oroville High School Robotics teams competed in tournament play at Central Washington University. When all was said and done, Oroville teams added three more trophies, including Tournament Champion, to their ever-expanding awards cache.

CWU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology hosts two robotics tournaments each year. A game/challenge was presented in September, tasking teams to engineer and program robots capable of maneuvering cubes, both autonomous (computer-programmed, self-driven) and driver-controlled, to specific goals on a playing field.

Tournaments are comprised of several components, including qualification rounds, where teams accrue points based on driver and autonomous skill. Once qualifications are complete, teams are ranked, then move on to elimination rounds where they compete head-to-head against opponents during alliance play. The top score determines who moves on to the quarter-final and semi-final rounds, followed by the finals match. Nine teams competed, including five teams of MET college seniors, two teams from Manson High School and two teams from OHS.

“It was quite the tournament for both Oroville teams,” remarked Coach Laara Peters-Kessler. “In the beginning, everything that could go wrong did. Last-minute re-coding, upended robots unable to right themselves mid-match and cubes stuck in field components posed huge obstacles.

In the end, true grit and the determination to persevere in the face of adversity carried both teams through to the semi-final round, where, pitted against each other, team 9 earned its place in the championship match where they outscored a team of MET seniors and secured the title of Tournament Champion.”

During the award ceremony, OHS Team 14 sophomore Jaxon Darley, junior Erin Gimello and 8th grader Travis Darley earned both Engineering and Team Excellence honors, while Team 9 senior Elias DeFord and junior Kwani Harding received the First- Place trophy.

“We were all relieved and incredibly happy with the awards,” said Peters-Kessler. “In November, Team 14 was crowned Tournament Champion and now Team 9 had its moment in the spotlight. For Elias, completing his high school robotics career as champion of the tournament was a sweet and well-deserved honor.”

Oroville High School Robotics is an after-school STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) program, funded by Altera 21st Century, a Federal Grant Program administered at OHS by Oroville Site Director/Mentor Dawn Miller, and supported by the Oroville School District. Oroville Speech Paraeducator Peters-Kessler is coach and team mentor.

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