Two Flagler County middle school students brought home a top-10 finish on a global stage last week, placing eighth in the world at the 2026 International SeaPerch Challenge held at the University of Maryland in College Park.
The team, known as “The Oranges,” is made up of Alexander Mangal from Buddy Taylor Middle School and Zachary Selic from Indian Trails Middle School. They competed against more than 200 teams from six countries and 44 states in a premier underwater robotics competition that challenges students to design, build, and operate underwater remotely operated vehicles — commonly called ROVs.
The Oranges stood out in several key categories. They earned a perfect score of 100 points in the Mission Course event, landing ninth place in that category. Their Technical Design Report — a written and presented breakdown of their engineering process — scored 92.33 out of 100, good enough for second place internationally. In the timed Obstacle Course, which tests the ROV’s underwater agility, the team posted a time of 1:02 to place 29th. Beyond the pool, Mangal and Selic also delivered a detailed presentation to judges covering their engineering process, teamwork strategies, and how they worked through design problems along the way.
Two other Buddy Taylor Middle School teams also competed in the international field. “The Ammonites” — Lucas Strunk, Nathan Cabrera Delombard, and Noah Johnson — finished 37th overall, and “The Great Whites” — Levente Beregszaszi, Ashton Barnes, Alexander Dattolico, and Robert Peters — finished 55th overall.
All three teams were guided by SeaPerch Advisor Tracy Jones and SeaPerch Coach Mike Bozzo. The materials and STEM supplies used by the students during their months of preparation were funded through a grant from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
This marks Flagler Schools’ third consecutive trip to the International SeaPerch Challenge, with three teams qualifying for the global competition each year.
“The results reflect much more than standard rankings; they represent a triumph of critical thinking, teamwork, and resilience under pressure,” Jones said. “The achievements of The Oranges, The Ammonites, and The Great Whites represent our commitment to fostering excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.”
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