Within the Bagel Bytes’ 25-year history, this season may be one of their strongest yet. Culver City High School’s Robotics Team, the Bagel Bytes (FRC Team 702), just wrapped up this year’s season with a whole lot of determination, creativity, and engineering.
Robotics at Culver City High is both a class and a club. During build season (January through April), the program functions as a competitive team. This is when Team 702, along with thousands of other FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) teams internationally, receives its annual challenge, which outlines what type of robot to build and what field elements must be used to complete specific tasks.
Outside of build season, Robotics continues as a club. During this “off season,” students begin planning future workshops, focusing on community outreach, and mentoring. In the upcoming 2025–2026 season, for example, Bagel Bytes members will help elementary students use FIRST Lego League (FLL) kits, and support middle and high schoolers with FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) kits—a smaller-scale version of the robots used in FRC. The end goal? To help all students sharpen hard and soft skills like communication, leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, and problem-solving… all while having fun. For Team 702, robotics is about much more than just building robots.
This year, their team structure remained similar to previous seasons, though with new leadership and new members. The team is divided into sub teams—electronics, CAD/design (Computer-Aided Design), programming, mechanics, safety, and business—each led by student heads who report to the team captains, James Cole and Nathan Salyer. This year, many members came in with more experience, helping the team level up across the board. For example, the CAD team, led by Oliver Nassar and Alexander Carter, made significant improvements thanks to the skills they had developed in previous years.
A major advantage this year was the continued support of robotics coach Dennis Paniza, who was hired last year to both teach the class and coach the Bagel Bytes team. A U.S. Air Force veteran with an electronics engineering background, Mr. Paniza brings a hands-on approach to the program. Inspired by his father, a U.S. Navy electrician, Mr. Paniza grew up learning how to fix cars, repair appliances, and take care of a team, skills he now passes on to his students. “When I met Team 702,” he shared, “they reminded me of when I was their age; the passion and the motivation towards STEM. It was from there that I knew I was hooked. Coaching the team and helping them grow in STEM is exactly where I’m meant to be.” Mr. Paniza emphasized that Team 702 is a student-led team, and none of their successes would be possible without the dedicated efforts of students, parents, volunteer mentors, and dedicated coaches; Dr. Craig Singer and Dr. David Stout. Both Dr. Singer and Dr. Stout have a combined coaching experience of over 30 years. Both of their daughters have graduated from CCHS and are alumnis of Team 702.
Another standout was this year’s robot (Its name is “Bubble Byte”), which featured a swerve drive base which allows for fast, agile movement, and a cascade elevator to lift “coral” game pieces onto multiple levels of a “reef.” It also boasted an innovative funnel intake system, algae rollers for high-level scoring, and precisely coordinated intake and outtake mechanisms.
The Bagel Bytes competed in two regional events this spring. Their first stop was the Hueneme Port Regional, where limited practice time led to some setbacks. But they bounced back at the Los Angeles Regional, finishing 3rd overall, one of their strongest performances to date. Although they didn’t qualify for the World Championships (held in Houston, TX) this year, the season was still a major success.
With solid team retention, growing technical knowledge, passionate leadership, and a strong support system, Team 702 continues to thrive. Next season, the competitions will shift to a district system, which may improve the team’s chances of qualifying for future world championships.
There’s no doubt that the Bagel Bytes will keep pushing boundaries, mentoring others, and reaching new heights in the seasons ahead.
For more updates on the Bagel Bytes, visit their website: https://www.team702robotics.com
