Cal Poly Pomona finished sixth out of 88 competitors at the annual Baja SAE team international competition, which tests students' engineering design skills in numerous events ranging from technical expertise to marketing to on-course performance.

The event in a rainy Bellingham, Wash., concluded with a four-hour endurance race. Cal Poly Pomona started in 16th position but halfway through managed to work its way to second, where it finished behind a team from Quebec. Rochester Institute of Technology in New York captured first place overall in the four-day competition.

Cal Poly Pomona's Baja team is coached by Clifford Stover, director of the engineering projects lab and a mechanical engineering professor. Under his guidance, the students have finished in the top 10 in each of the last three years against dozens of teams from around the world.

The Formula competition, also sponsored by SAE, will take place June 16-19 at California Speedway in Fontana.