Coupeville Sports

Gabe Smith ponders the mysteries of the universe. (Photos courtesy Alison Perera)

When they travel, they bring their big brains with them.

Four Coupeville High School students join with their counterparts in Oak Harbor for robotics competitions, uniting to help Whidbey thrash schools from the big cities.

While Coupeville has its own middle school robotics teams, coaches Alison Perera and Doug McVey are working on bringing back a similar program at the high school level.

For now, though, the Wolves and Wildcats work together.

CHS freshmen Natalie Perera and Orion Liedtke, as well as senior Wyatt Sylvester, are on Team 24252 (Wildcats C), while freshman Gabe Smith is on Team 22196 (Wildcats B).

The younger Perera is a driver, while the other CHS students work on their team’s robot as part of the pit crew.

The FBI would like a word…

In their most recent competition, held in Oak Harbor, Wildcats B went 4-2, while Wildcats C was 5-1.

Combined with previous results, that launches the teams to #2 and #3 in their league.

Both squads advance to Interleague competition in Everett in mid-January, where they’ll be seeded in the top five in a 31-team field.

FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics competition open to students in grades 7-12.

Washington state teams start off with 12 matches in their region, before competing at Interleague, which is the last stop before the state championships in February.