Competitors raise their hands Friday to signify their first appearance in the 7th annual Thomas Cup, during the event’s opening ceremony at Thomas College in Waterville. Maine high school students compete in five challenges, focusing on robotics, crime scene analysis, esports, innovation and cybersecurity. Winning students have their names added to the Thomas Cup and receive scholarships worth up to $10,000 over four years. Rich Abrahamson / Morning Watch
WATERVILLE — More than 100 high school students from across Maine gathered Friday at Thomas College in Waterville for the 7th Annual Thomas Cup, a nightly competition for technology and innovation.
Teams of five students participated in five challenges, focusing on robotics, crime scene analysis, esports, innovation and cybersecurity.
Winning students have their names added to the Thomas Cup and receive scholarships worth up to $10,000 over four years.
This year‘s competition included teams from Waterville High School, Messalonskee High School in Oakland, Lewiston High School and Mid-Maine Technical Center in Waterville.
The winning team: The Absolute Units, made up of Christopher Kusturin, Joseph Poissant, Abel Mitchell, Michael Osgood and Emmett Shea from the Baxter Academy for Technology and Science in Portland.
The second place team – Winswood – had pupils from several schools, and the third place team – 1984 – included pupils from the Watershed School of Camden.

Zachary Ferioli, 14, right, of Marshwood High School in South Berwick and other high school students get organized and set up computers on Friday ahead of taking part in the 7th annual Thomas Cup at Thomas College in Waterville. Maine high school students compete in five challenges, focusing on robotics, crime scene analysis, esports, innovation and cybersecurity. Winning students have their names added to the Thomas Cup and receive scholarships worth up to $10,000 over four years. Rich Abrahamson / Morning Watch
This year’s Thomas Cup tested students’ skills in the following ways:
• The robotics challenge required students to program a robot to navigate an obstacle course and race against other teams.
• The esports challenge included a League of Legends knockout tournament.
• Crime scene analysis gave students a scenario where a disoriented driver was arrested and bones were found inside his vehicle. Students then had to demonstrate how to legally interview the man, process a possible crime scene, determine the source of the bones, and speculate on what happened.
• The Innovation Challenge allowed students to learn simple propulsion and compete against projects they had built during the event.
• The cyber challenge familiarized students with the latest cyber threats, which they had to identify and show they could avoid.
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