Denham Venom Makes Louisiana Robotics History
The Denham Springs High School robotics team recently made history, becoming the first Louisiana team to win a Division Title at the FIRST Robotics World Championships that were held at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, April 16-19.
FIRST - For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology – is the world’s largest robotics competition. High school teams from around the world are given six to eight weeks to design, build and program a fully functional 140-pound robot. This year, 600 of 3,700 teams were selected for the Championship competition.
At the 2025 World Championships, the team was the No. 1 team overall in the Archimedes Division, winning 9 of its 10 qualifying matches, to compete in the finals with teams from countries like Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, China, Israel and others.
The Denham Venom drive team included Jacob Duke, Evan Durbin, Nicholas Carpenter, and Sebastian Cupit. The team was led by Drive Coach Rohit Gondi. Their performance reflected the work of 45 team members who helped to construct the robot, test it and run it through a series of local and regional competitions.
“I’ve been coaching robotics teams in Louisiana for 15 years and am always floored by the commitment and passion that these students bring to their work,” said Denham Venom Head Coach
Daniel Eiland. “They spend hundreds of hours after school building these 140-pound robots from scratch, and to see our team make it this far only shows their continued ability to go farther than anyone could imagine.”
Eiland noted that this year marks the 36th anniversary of the FIRST Robotics Competition, and over that time, no team from Louisiana has ever made it as far as this year’s Denham Venom team.
The Denham Venom team earned its place on the world stage by competing in three different regional competitions in three different states. The
team was a finalist in two of the competitions and earned first place in the Bayou Regional, which was held in Louisiana.
Along the way, the team finished the season with a record 51 wins out of 65 matches and a Top 2% ranking among the world’s 3,700 teams, and a No. 1 ranking for the State of Louisiana. The team’s Lead Technical Mentor was awarded the prestigious Woodie Flowers Finalist Award for excellence in student mentorship.
“We are proud to be supported by over two dozen sponsors, including our House Sponsor, the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility, and Title Sponsors Dow Chemical, Weyerhaeuser, Chevron, and DoDSTEM, along with countless mentors, school staff, parents, and volunteers who believe in what these students are building—on and off the field,” Eiland said.