MATES team places first in NASA contest

A student team from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES), a division of the Ocean County Vocational Technical School, Toms River, has taken first place in an underwater remotely operated vehicle contest sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Houston.

The nine-member team consisted of Connor McBride, Lakehurst; Maria DeLeon and David Geeter, both Jackson; Dakota Goldinger and Nick Loizos, both Toms River; team captain Christy Campbell, Jake Hershey and Kyle Boehm, all of Brick; and Alan White, Berkeley.

The team remotely controlled its underwater vehicle, Aquafox, and maneuvered it around a 6.2-million-gallon pool to win first place. It defeated seven other high schools, academies, and a college from the United States and Canada. The team also placed first for an engineering technical report and engineering evaluation presentation.