After spending weeks refining a robot that didn't complete its first successful scoring run until three days before the competition, Cedarville University's Robotics Team captured first place at the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Two-Year College Division Model Design Competition on June 22 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Competing against teams from colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Louisville, Cedarville's robot, “Cedar Gleaner,” scored 784.79 points, nearly 340 points ahead of the second-place team. Cedarville was the only team to successfully complete all four official competition runs, demonstrating innovative engineering design and reliability.
Autonomous Robot Earns National ASEE Championship
The annual competition challenges collegiate engineering teams to design, build and program a fully autonomous robot capable of completing complex engineering tasks while meeting strict size and cost requirements.
This year's challenge required robots to begin inside an 8-by-12-by-10-inch starting box before expanding to collect 12 randomly scattered foam golf balls from a 4-by-8-foot artificial turf field. Each robot identified the balls by color, sorted them and delivered them to the appropriate scoring bins while earning additional points for speed and accuracy.
Perseverance Leads to Championship Performance
The championship followed weeks of intensive work after the spring semester ended. Team members voluntarily returned to campus throughout June to redesign, troubleshoot, test and refine nearly every aspect of the robot.
"The robot completed its first successful scoring run only three days before the competition," said Dr. Clint Kohl, professor of engineering and robotics team adviser. "Many teams would have settled at that point, but our students continued refining every part of the system. Their commitment to excellence resulted in a performance that exceeded our expectations."
By competition day, “Cedar Gleaner” successfully completed all four official competition runs, while only one other team completed a single full run.
Students Sacrifice Summer to Achieve Success
Kohl said the championship reflected the dedication of the entire team, many of whom gave up part of their summer break to continue improving the robot after classes had ended, including Seth Enloe of Batavia, Ohio, Michael Arnett of Springfield, Ohio, Paul Song of Calabarzon, Philippines, Titus Wong of Cedarville, Ohio, Jeremy Lonsway of Orient, Ohio, Makeda Tesfa of Harare, Zimbabwe, Charlie Chesnes of Delaware, Ohio and Rebekah Li of Dayton, Ohio.
"Seth's commitment was remarkable, but he certainly wasn't alone," said Kohl. "Michael, Paul and the rest of the team repeatedly returned to campus after the semester ended because they believed they could build something better. This championship belongs to every student who invested part of their summer to make it happen."
Fourteen Cedarville students traveled to Charlotte, forming the university's largest robotics delegation in more than 25 years of participating in the ASEE Model Design Competition.
Other team members were Sam Halperin of Fort Myers, Florida; Brandon Aikman of North Granby, Connecticut; Sophia Perusek of Aberdeen, Maryland; Sam Dunn of Granger, Indiana; Stefan Pantea of Fraserville, Canada; Joshua Foster Jr. of Orlando, Florida; Jonathan Hindall of Cleveland, Ohio; Doxa Kudari of Bloomington, Illinois; Abby Wurster of Delaware, Ohio; Joshua Cordova of Leesburg, Virginia; Thaddeus Neely of West Jefferson, Ohio; Caleb Craig of Baldwinsville, New York; and Weston Tyndall of Kernersville, North Carolina.
Hands-On Robotics Experience Prepares Future Engineers
Cedarville University's engineering program emphasizes experiential learning through industry-relevant design projects, research and national competitions that prepare graduates to solve complex engineering challenges. Students develop expertise in robotics, autonomous systems, systems integration and collaborative engineering while using their knowledge and skills to serve others for the glory of God.
About Cedarville University
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across the arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,265 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation's top five evangelical universities in The Wall Street Journal's 2026 Best Colleges rankings. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. More information is available at cedarville.edu.