2 Newark Teens Compete At World Robotics Championship

NEWARK, CA — Two Newark teens, Pranav Bellannagari and Pooja Kanthala, competed last week in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics World Championship in Houston. Their 17-member team, the Mechanical Magicians, won the Highest Rookie Seed award for placing highest in their division.

All members of the team are high school students from the Bay Area.

"It was a really cool experience getting to see the world's best team and be able to compete on the same level as them," Bellannagari told Patch. "We all really enjoyed the experience very much and hope we can make it back again next year."

The Mechanical Magicians was founded by Bellannagari, who also serves as their captain.

"The team was established with the goal of providing hands-on STEM learning opportunities to students of all backgrounds and experiences," said Bellannagari. "The team spent countless hours at a not-for-profit community makerspace located at the Livermore Airport hangar, operated by their partner, Robot Garden."

At the team's first competition, the San Francisco Regionals, they made it to the semifinals and placed third overall, and also earned the distinguished Rookie Inspiration Award.

Next came the Monterey Regionals, where they won the Rookie All-Star award which secured their place in the World Championship.

Bellannagari is proud of the Rookie All-Star award, "This prestigious award recognizes the team's strong partnership spirit and their efforts to inspire students in their communities to learn about science and technology."

In addition to Newark, team members live in San Ramon, Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton, and San Jose.