College of Southern Maryland’s robotics team, the Talons

College of Southern Maryland’s robotics team, the Talons, from left, Jacob Brezina of Swan Point, Emily Subocz of Waldorf, Jonathan Frank of Indian Head, John Hamel of Mechanicsville, David Farrell of La Plata, Cody Graham of Great Mills and Mark McClosky of Owings, competed in the Vex Robotics World Championship in Anaheim, Calif., April 23-26. The competition among 60 teams from the U.S., Mexico, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, China and Brazil, included seven teams representing community colleges. The Talons finished fourth in robot/driver skills, fifth in programming skills and 27th in tournament play, ahead of top U.S. engineering schools’ teams from Purdue University, University of Florida and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “We are especially proud of this being the first year that the Talons have made it to the finals for both skills challenges,” said Professor and team advisor Bernice Brezina. (Photo courtesy of Ken Stanek Photography)