Nearly 200 students from across Oklahoma gathered at the Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center on March 28 for our 11th annual SeaPerch Robotics Challenge, where teams competed to pilot underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) through a series of increasingly demanding courses.
This year’s Storm Response theme tasked students with simulating real disaster recovery scenarios. Using robots they designed and built themselves, competitors tackled missions including restoring harbor operations, assessing submerged infrastructure, and supporting post-storm community recovery. The missions were modeled after real challenges engineers face in the aftermath of natural disasters.
The competition drew 47 teams from 25 schools, competing across three divisions: elementary, middle school, and high school. Teams were evaluated on two underwater courses as well as a judges’ interview, where students explained their design process and engineering decisions to STEM professionals.
2026 Winners:
Elementary
1ˢᵗ Place — “Dove Sharks” from Dove School of Discovery, Tulsa
2ⁿᵈ Place — “Rhoades SeaPerch Team 2” from Rhoades Elementary, Broken Arrow Public Schools
3ʳᵈ Place — “Oktaha ES” from Oktaha Elementary School, Oktaha Public Schools
Middle School
1ˢᵗ Place — “Circuit Breakers 3” from Memorial Middle School, Tulsa Public Schools
2ⁿᵈ Place — “Circuit Breakers 2” from Memorial Middle School, Tulsa Public Schools
3ʳᵈ Place — “Circuit Breakers 1” from Memorial Middle School, Tulsa Public Schools
High School
1ˢᵗ Place — “Circuit Breakers” from Memorial Middle School, Tulsa Public Schools
2ⁿᵈ Place — “See SeaPerch Run” from Dove Science Academy High School, Oklahoma City
3ʳᵈ Place — “Mingo Flamingos” from Mingo Valley Christian School
Advancement: 2026 International SeaPerch Challenge
Two teams will advance to the International SeaPerch Challenge at the University of Maryland on May 30:
“Circuit Breakers” from Memorial High School, Tulsa Public Schools
“Circuit Breakers 3” from Memorial Middle School, Tulsa Public Schools
Congratulations to all the students who competed, and to the educators and coaches who supported them every step of the way. We look forward to seeing Oklahoma represented on the international stage this May.