Sonny Vinuya, Southern NV Outreach Director with Governor Joe Lombardo’s Office stopped by UNLV to recognize the winning NCAE Cyber Games team members. He brought with him official certificates of recognition and congratulations from the Governor and state.

Team UNLV took first in the nation in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE) Cyber Games Invitational after winning their regional competition. More than 1,100 students from across the nation competed in regional events for the opportunity to test their skills at the Invitational.

Led by Layer Zero, the team was comprised of students from that cybersecurity student organization as well as those from UNLV's WiCyS Student Chapter, and the UNLV Cyber Clinic. The students primarily hailed from the university's computer science and cybersecurity programs and included freshman to graduate students.

Only students from NCAE-C designated schools are eligible to compete in the national competition. While teams could be comprised of up to 10 competitors, UNLV only had a seven-member team and was still about to take the win.

Winning team members included: Austin Choi, team captain; Gabe Berrios, coach; and competitors Santiago Montenegro, Humza Moten, Alex Mari Quinto, Nicholaus Bloom, Kaylee Melendez, and Bobby Ching. Although not able to attend the national event, Nefeli Georgilas, Thien Nguyen, and assistant coach Luke Rasmusson, were important contributors to winning at regionals and securing the team the win to compete nationally.