Months of tinkering and brainstorming came to fruition last week when hundreds of students from more than a dozen elementary schools gathered on the Cal Poly Pomona campus.

Under massive canopy tents on the Engineering Meadow, hundreds of youngsters made last-minute adjustments to robotic creations as the competition began.

The bots, each the size of a shoebox, bumped and pushed at each other in an attempt to wrestle the other outside of the sumo circle. Others raced through obstacle courses or tried to accurately follow a line. As victors emerged, the crowd erupted in cheers.