Penn Hills Students Earn Top Honors at Carnegie Mellon Coding Competition

Three students from Penn Hills High School’s Coding Team recently represented the district at the Carnegie Mellon University Spring 2026 Coding Competition, an international competition highlighting student creativity and coding skills. 

The students, who are enrolled in Penn Hills’ Game Coding and AP Computer Science courses, competed against hundreds of students from around the world and delivered impressive performances across multiple divisions.

Team captain Avin Keller earned a fourth-place finish for his latest video game, Order Preserves Us, while competing in the highest division available to high school students. The competition marked the conclusion of Keller’s coding career at Penn Hills, where he leaves behind a remarkable legacy. Throughout his time on the team, Keller earned three first-place finishes, the most in the history of the competition for Penn Hills students.

Keller will continue his computer science education this fall at Penn State University.

Brandy Kelly also earned recognition, capturing third place in her division with an original murder mystery video game. After competing for the first time last fall, Kelly dedicated countless hours to developing the project and achieved success against a highly competitive international field of coders.

Allison Vivas competed with the Coding Team for the first time this year and also represented Penn Hills with a strong performance throughout the competition.

The accomplishments of Keller, Kelly, and Vivas reflect the dedication and technical skill of Penn Hills students while highlighting the opportunities available through the district’s computer science and coding programs.