Campus News
December 22nd, 2025
Alonso, Gillott win battle bots competition
Event served as culminating project for GC’s Engineering 101 course
Garrett College’s ENR 101 course included a culminating competition between student-built battle bots. Pictured, left to right, are champions Lucas Alonso and Grayden Gillott with "Wally"; Gerald Glotfelty and Maclain Love with "Meatball"; Instructor Phil Malone with the battle bot trophy; and Grahame Henry, Hen Choo, and Ethan Sylvania with "WSB".
Lucas Alonso and Grayden Gillott emerged victorious in Garrett College’s recent Intro to Engineering (ENR 101) battle bots competition.
The GC freshmen and their battle bot, Wally, defeated rival battle bots built by classmates Gerald Glotfelty and Maclain Love (Meatball) and Grahame Henry, Hen Choo, and Ethan Sylvania (WSB). The competition was the culminating project in the introductory engineering course taught by Dr. Kelli Sisler and Phil Malone, who were both full-time engineers earlier in their careers.
Sisler said the seven students in the course were extremely impressive.
"They all communicated well and came in ready to learn," said Sisler, who predicted "They’ll all transfer to four-year institutions and I’m sure they’ll excel in the engineering field."
Malone – well known in Garrett County robotics circles for founding Garrett Engineering And Robotics Society (GEARS) to inspire young people to become science and technology leaders – taught the course’s lab component. That included significant amounts of CAD (Computer Aided Design) using the Onshape program along with electrical schematics, block diagrams, and building of the battle bots.
"This class provides students with a window into the engineering design process," said Malone. "It teaches about collaborating within a design team and how to manage technical decision making while working within a budget and schedule."
Sisler taught the classroom portion of the course, which focused on graphing, engineer ethics, interpreting data, communication, and presentation skills.
"I love working with Phil," said Sisler. "We complement each other well. I love the theoretical part of engineering and he loves the application component."
