WARREN — Katie Terela envisions one day becoming an archaeologist or studying international business, but for now, she’s enjoying merely flying high.

“I really like working with people,” Terela, a McDonald High School senior, said.

On Saturday, she had that opportunity, though it was complemented also with working with drones, because she was among the area’s high school students who took part in the Trumbull County Drone Racing League competition at Warren G. Harding High School’s new wellness center.

The Trumbull County Educational Service Center organized and ran Saturday’s gathering. The event got underway with a series of challenges designed to test the students’ speed, strategy and precision.

Sixteen teams took part in a fast-paced head-to-head competition, along with a capture-the-flag portion and a marketing and presentation display, Jenna Jordan, racing coordinator, noted.

The competition started with time trials, followed by a bracket-style portion in which the top teams competed. The first- and second-place teams had byes, whereas the third- to sixth-place ones competed against one another, Jordan said.

The league, in its fourth year, has grown from six teams to 17, she said, adding that 3-D materials were used to craft the drones used in Saturday’s competition.

“I started last year, and this year, I’m the graphic designer for our team,” Terela said, referring to the six-member Dragonflyers team.

It didn’t take long for Chase Learn to develop his own brand of a true love affair.

“I fell in love with it,” the Southington Chalker High School senior said about his introduction to all things drones.

Perhaps such feelings blossomed for Learn when his team won the overall championship trophy in last year’s competition. His interest in the unmanned aerial vehicles began in his 10th-grade year, said Learn, who intends to enroll after high school at Walsh University to study accounting.

Among Saturday’s top finishers was Gavin Boyts, a Howland High School junior whose team took home a win in the head-to-head competition as well as a second-place finish in the capture-the-flag event.

“Both of them got me into drone flying,” Boyts said, referring to two cousins — one of whom conducts film shorts and the other who performs online racing using drone simulators.

Boyts recalled having been introduced to drones during the summer of his eighth-grade year at the home of one of the cousins, he said.

For his part, Boyts is part of a school club that, in effect, combines drones and robotics, he added.

Boyts’ post-high school trajectory looks to be influenced by some of his experiences now, because his ambition is to attend Youngstown State University or Kent State University. Specifically, he’s looking at possibly enrolling at YSU and KSU to pursue his interest in information technology and aerospace engineering, respectively, he said.

Boyts has two drones at home, one of which is a 5-inch freestyle one, he continued.

Saturday’s Drone Racing League’s challenges may have been fast paced and precision-filled but they also carry valuable applications, Jordan said.

“This event is about more than just racing. It’s about collaboration, problem solving and giving the students a chance to explore real-world applications of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and business skills in a fun and engaging environment,” she said in an email.