Waianae High School Robotics Team Wins National Championship, Earns NASA Internship Offers

The Waianae High School Seariders robotics team has won the FIRST Robotics National Championship in Houston, becoming the first Hawaii public school team to claim the title and earning internship offers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for three of its senior members.

The 22-member team, competing under the name “Westside Wreckers,” defeated 600 teams from 37 countries with a robot designed to autonomously sort and deliver simulated disaster relief supplies. The competition challenged teams to build a robot in six weeks that could navigate an obstacle course, identify color-coded supply crates, and deliver them to designated zones.

“These kids are from one of the most underserved communities in Hawaii, and they just beat prep schools with ten times their budget,” said head coach and physics teacher Gerald Santos. “Nobody handed them anything. They earned every bolt.”

The team operated on a budget of $12,000 — a fraction of the $50,000-plus that well-funded mainland programs spend. They fabricated parts in the school’s aging metal shop and coded their autonomous navigation system using open-source software. Local companies including Hawaiian Dredging, Par Pacific, and Servco donated materials and mentorship hours.

Seniors Kayla Tauala, Micah Kekona, and Jordan Apo received internship offers from NASA JPL in Pasadena for summer 2026. All three plan to pursue engineering degrees — Tauala at MIT, Kekona at UH Manoa, and Apo at Stanford, all on full scholarships.

The Waianae Coast community held a homecoming celebration at the school gymnasium, where over 500 people greeted the team. State Representative Cedric Gates presented a legislative resolution honoring their achievement.