In many respects, we’ve never been this successful at a combat robotics competition. Sacramento Bot Battles 2026 had divisions for our 15lb bots (NRL/BotsIQ) and three PLANT divisions; we competed in the intermediate and advanced/open divisions for PLANTS. In all three divisions in which we competed, we took first place. Let’s first cover the intermediate bracket. In this section several of ours bots performed well in the initial fights – Cement Sam, taker of first place from last year, won two of the three fights. Meanwhile, Replacement Character, a new bot from an experienced team, won all three in the Swiss section of the tournament. Several other bots performed admirably too, whether or not they made it to the final bracket or not. Many bots made it well into the final bracket, sometimes being eliminated in combat against another bot from Tech High. As they did last year, one of our best teams took home first place in the section with Cement Sam. And while “Wittle Baby Wobot” did not survive for the final stage, they did win the Coolest Bot Award in the intermediate PLANTS division.
Below, Challonge brackets are embedded for reference. Please note that the PLANT fights began with groups of 3 or 4, from which the best bots would advance, before moving to a standard bracket.
Moving on to the even more competitive advanced bracket, seasoned competitors face off and new types of bots appear, especially spinning Meltybrain bots. The Meltybrain bot Event Horizon, built by new members of our team, scored a striking five wins to only one loss. They managed to do this despite having lost their control electronics shortly before the event. Their one loss was to Edgehog, the bot which ended up 2nd below Event Horizon’s 1st place score. In addition to winning first place, Event Horizon was awarded Most Destructive, over several other Meltybrains and the rest of the advanced bots. In this style of competition, a single loss against a team doesn’t necessarily mean they will score better than you in the final rankings. Other Tech High bots, such as Squirtle Bot, would also demonstrate their power in this bracket.
And finally, we have our 15lb bots, Angular Aggression and REV 3. While REV 3 lost twice two formidable control bot Lunar Eclipse, a long-time enemy, it ranked 4th. This 4th was nearly 3rd, but the REV 3 faced electronics trouble and couldn’t battle Dishwasher for the position. And for the first time, we’ve taken home first in the 15lbs category of a competition. Angular Aggression won every battle it fought except one (against Dishwasher). Fortunately for us, this loss was due to an electrical failure as a switch was corroded, not because our bot was destroyed by our opponent.
While Angular Aggression was first, REV 3 was recognized in a far more special way. Unsurprisingly, the unique horizontal spinner brought it the Most Destructive Award. But more than that, it finally caused Placer Advanced Robotics and Technology’s arena to be retired for good. In one fight, REV 3’s impact with the wall of the arena knocked one of the metal bars holding the arena together off, indicating that the arena’s time was coming to an end. For this feat, the REV 3 team brought home that same metal bar from the arena.
In addition to the three first place victories achieved by our club, we won at least four other awards. This demonstrates the amazing dedication, skill, and perseverance of our team members. It demonstrates that the educational opportunities we have provided have really had an impact, and the product of all the generous sponsorship from Designit Prototype, the Porsche Club of America, Husky Machining, the City of Rohnert Park, NECA, and all the others who have been believed in us. We’re excited to continue this success through nationals and the next academic year, at which point a new generation of leaders will begin take the reigns of the team and work to continue the unparalleled streak we started a year ago.
