Competition

Join the CyberHusky Team for comprehensive AI and cybersecurity training, as well as attending cyber competitions. You'll be guided and mentored by Michigan Tech professors and students, and the best part is, it's free for everyone who wants to participate.
Theme of the year: From Classroom to Community: AI-Assisted App Development for Community Engagement. 

Canvas page with learning materials:
• CyberHusky on Canvas

Training time and location:
• Fall / Spring: Regular weekly meetings at 7pm - 8:30pm every Saturday night at Rekhi 117, Michigan Tech.
• Summer: Summer camp (Exact dates TBD).

Training content:
• Coding, AI, Machine Learning, AI-assisted Coding, and other AI related topics.
• Linux, Windows, Networking, Cybersecurity, Hacking, and other fun cybersecurity topics.
• In-depth training for cyber competitions such as the Presidential AI Challenge (Sept. - Otc.), CyberPatriot (Fall), and National Cyber League (Spring).

Eligibility:
• Local middle school (Grade 8 or above) and high school students who have taken at least one coding courses previously.
• Bring your own laptop if possible. Otherwise, the coach will provide access to computers.

For questions, contact Prof. Cai: cai@mtu.edu

Submit a Cyber Husky Team Application here

Awards & Honors 

13. Winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s First District.

12. Houghton High School CyberHusky Teams Earn Top National Rankings in Spring 2026 NCL Competition

Houghton High School students achieved outstanding results in the Spring 2026 National Cyber League (NCL) High School Competition. In the High School Category, Houghton High School earned an impressive #9 national ranking, a remarkable accomplishment that reflects the dedication, teamwork, and technical skills of all participating students.

The competition includes two components: an Individual Competition and a Team Competition.

Students performed well in the Individual Competition, which included more than 1,300 participants nationwide. Alex Svanidze ranked #13 nationally and achieved a perfect score of 3000 out of 3000. Five students achieved top 100 placement nationally: Joshua You, Samuel Cai, Daniel Xie, William Jiang, and Arobindo Ghosh. Three students achieved top 200 nationally: Gabriel Hjerstedt, Sophia Wu, and Maxwell Livesay

The CyberHusky teams also had an excellent showing in the Team Competition. CyberHusky1 ranked #15 nationally out of nearly 700 high school teams. Team members included Alex Svanidze, William Jiang, Samuel Cai, Daniel Xie, Joshua You, Gabriel Hjerstedt, and Anna Wu. CyberHusky2 ranked #40 nationally. Team members included Arobindo Ghosh, Lewis Vendlinski, Maxwell Livesay, Jackson Brown, Zhi Tao, Mihai Mihalca, and Sophia Wu.

The CyberHusky team is coached by Michigan Tech students and faculty.

11. CyberHusky Team Wins 2026 Presidential AI Challenge Michigan State Championship. News report 1 here. News blog 2 here.

The CyberHusky team from Houghton High School won Michigan State Champion in the 2026 Presidential AI Challenge, a national competition focused on using AI to address real-world community problems. The team includes Samuel Cai, Gabe Hjerstedt, Lewis Vendlinski, and Daniel Xie. Their achievement reflects strong technical skill, creativity, and teamwork in developing AI-based solutions.

10. CyberHusky Teams Achieved Best-ever Results in CyberPatriot Competition Fall 2025. News blog.

The first team, consisting of Daniel Xie, Anna Wu, Samuel Cai, Gabe Hjerstedt, Edward Liu, and Jackson Brown, secured an impressive 4th place in Michigan’s Platinum tier, our best ranking since we began participating in the CyberPatriot competition.

The second team, comprising Joshua You, Arobindo Ghosh, Roberto Marin, Zhitao Yap, Lewis Vendlinski, and Mihai Mihalca, secured 7th place in Michigan’s Platinum Tier. This marks the first time our program has placed two teams in the Top 10 of Michigan’s Platinum Tier.

The third team, composed of Maxwell Livesay, William Jiang, Sophia Wu, Alex Svanidze, Rounak Chatterjee, and Yaman Alshagarin, secured 12th place in Michigan’s Gold Tier. This strong performance reflects the team’s technical proficiency and continued growth within a highly competitive field.

9. CyberHusky Students Achieve Outstanding Results in the National Cyber League (NCL) Competitions Spring 2025.

Houghton High School achieved an impressive #16 national ranking in the NCL High School Category—an outstanding accomplishment that reflects the dedication and hard work of all participating students.

In the Individual Competition, four students placed in the top 100 out of more than 1,700 high school participants nationwide, and six additional students ranked between 100 and 200. Their rankings are as follows:

• Joshua You – #46; Edward Liu – #62; Samuel Cai – #75; Arobindo Ghosh – #87; 

• Daniel Xie – #121; Gabriel Hjerstedt – #179; Alex Svanidze – #185; Anna Wu – #198; Sophia Wu – #199; William Jiang – #200

In the Team Competition, the CyberHusky teams also performed exceptionally well:

• CyberHusky1 ranked #20 nationally out of 910 high school teams. Team members: Joshua You, Edward Liu, Samuel Cai, Arobindo Ghosh, Daniel Xie, and Gabriel Hjerstedt.

• CyberHusky2 ranked #37 nationally. Team members: Anna Wu, Sophia Wu, Alex Svanidze, William Jiang, Zhi Tao Yap, and Catherine Vendlinski.

• CyberHusky3 ranked #120 nationally. Team members: Max Livesay, Roberto Marin, Lewis Vendlinski, Rounak Chatterjee, and Jackson Brown.

8. CyberHusky Teams Achieve Remarkable Results in CyberPatriot Competition 2024

• The CyberHusky1 team (comprising Anna Wu, Edward Liu, Daniel Xie, Samuel Cai, Gabe Hjerstedt, Joshua You) secured the #5 position in Michigan’s Platinum tier.
• The CyberHusky3 team (Rounak Chatterjee, Sophia Wu, Alex Svanidze) excelled in the Middle School tier, securing the #3 position in Michigan.

7. CyberHuskies Achieve Stellar Results in National Cyber League (NCL) Competitions Spring 2024.
Read the news blog here.
View the TV6 report here.
In the NCL team competition, the CyberHusky1 team ranked #7 nationally in the high school bracket. The CyberHusky2 team ranked #39 nationally, and the CyberHusky3 team ranked #51 nationally. Over 600 high school teams from across the country competed in the spring 2024 NCL team competition.

In the NCL individual competition, two CyberHusky students placed among the national top 100 in the high school bracket, and six students finished in the national top 150.

6. CyberHusky Teams Achieve Remarkable Results in CyberPatriot Competition 2023. Read more here.

• The CyberHusky1 team (comprising Crystal Wang, Anna Wu, Edward Liu, Jackson Brown, Samuel Cai, and Baron Colbert) secured the #6 position in Michigan’s Platinum tier.
• The CyberHusky2 team (Gabe Hjerstedt, Rachel Sun, Arobindo Ghosh, Joshua You, Zhitao Yap, Bethany Green, and Liam Sullivan) earned the #13 spot in Michigan’s Gold tier.
• The CyberHusky3 team (Max Livesay, Alex Svanidze, Sophia Wu, William Jiang, and Luke Meyers) excelled in the Middle School tier, securing the #2 position in Michigan.
  

5. CyberHusky Teams Place #17 in the National Cyber League (NCL) Competition Spring 2023.
CyberHusky, a team comprising local middle and high school students (mainly Houghton High School), made their debut in the National Cyber League (NCL) by competing in the NCL's 2023 spring event, where they achieved an impressive national ranking of #17.
Read more here.

4. CyberHusky Teams Achieved Top Ten Rankings in Two Michigan Cybersecurity Competitions in 2022.
The CyberHusky1 team from Houghton High School ranked #7 in the state of Michigan (Platinum tier, Open Division) during the 2022 national CyberPatriot Competition. The CyberHusky2 team ranked #7 in Michigan's Gold tier, open division. 
The CyberHusky team took part in the 2022 Michigan Governor's High School Cyber Challenge (GHSCC), securing a spot in the top ten. Furthermore, four other CyberHusky teams achieved commendable rankings, placing among the top 100 teams in the competition.
Read more here

3. The “Space Dinosaurs” team from Houghton Middle School captured the1st place of the Michigan Middle School Award in the 2021 national CyberPatriot Competition. Read more here.

The CyberPatriot is the nation’s largest cyber defense competition that puts high school and middle school students in charge of securing virtual networks. It was created by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire K-12 students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future. In the 2021 competition, there were 5,254 registered teams, representing nearly 21,000 students and 2,000 adult coaches from all 50 U.S. states. 

2. The “Angles” team from Houghton High School Ranked Top Ten in the 2021 Governor’s High School Cyber Challenge (GHSCC), a state of Michigan-level cybersecurity competition for high school students.Read more here.

The GHSCC aims to expose K-12 students to cybersecurity at no cost to the students or schools. Students participate in various challenges that test their knowledge of cybersecurity, computer science, and information technology through two rounds of competitions. The competition included more than 600 student participants across the state of Michigan in 2021.

1. CyberPatriot Summer Camp:  July 25 - 29, 2022 at Michigan Tech