Bronco Robotics Team Started Strong and Haven't Slowed Down!
Barb Dawson • January 11, 2024

VEX Worlds is on the Horizon!

Montini Catholic's Robotics Team is celebrating a very successful season thus far, gaining much traction after securing an early State qualification in November. Last year, Team (A) was the highest ranking team at State upon qualifying for the VEX Worlds Competition ​where they ranked ​among the top 3% in the world​ at the conclusion of the season. This year's Team A hasn't lost the momentum and is cautiously celebrating a repeat of last year's successful season, racking up the awards as they set their sights on Worlds.


The ​23-24 VEX Robotics season ​b​egan for the Broncos on November 19th when they found massive success at their first match, qualifying for State early in competition season! ​ The students' diligence and exhausting after-school sessions and late night hours are paying off.  The team secured the ‘Create’ Award at th​e Vex Tournament in Batavia for the second year in a row and also earned the Robotics Skills Champion title​ in addition to bringing home the 2nd Place overall title! 

​The Broncos Team A traveled to Batavia once again on Sunday, January 7th when they competed against 38 other teams​ at the VEX Tournament #2 - Over Under, achieving first place in the individual competition, and​ 2nd Place overall ​(by just 1 point in the finals​). ​They ​also e​arned the ​'Amaze​' ​Award, which is given to the highest scoring robot. 


​M​ontini's A ​T​eam ​i​s led by Anjay Dhir​ '24, Matt Silveyra​ '25, Wyatt Prater​ '25, Connor Kaefer​ '25, Geethan Siram​ '25, Michael Pogorelec​ '24, Dhruv Patel​ '24, Issy Jaojoco​ '25, Hayden Surrette​ '25, and Dam​j​an Pasic-Hernandez​ '24.


​"​Our Montini Robotics B team also competed ​o​n January 7th and had a great run of 5 wins and only 2 losses​,​" informed Technology Director and Robotics Coach, Mr. Pete Farina '87. "They finished 6th in qualifications and in the top 16 overall. A fantastic first tournament for this mostly freshman team​!" 


Leading ​M​ontini's B team ​were Frank Flores​ '24, Franklin Barnes​ '27, Brendan O’Connor​ '27, Eric Burgener​ '27, Molly Felice​ '27, Brianna Konopacz​ '09, Ailish McKinzie​ '09, Julian Reyes​ '27, Alex Santelli​ '25, Sophia Stiso​ '27, and Lucas VanWitzenberg​ '27. 


​Up next ​f​or Team A ​ - they will be heading to Cleveland, Ohio in February to compete against 80 teams from around the Midwest!​ The team is also registered for the CREATE U.S. Open National Robotics Championship in Council Bluffs, Iowa on March 14, 15, & 16. ​"This tournament is second only to Worlds in terms of number of teams and the level of competition​,​" said Farina who can't hide his excitement for his team. "There will be 180 top teams from around the U.S. and 20-30 teams from around the world. This is an amazing competitive opportunity for the team! We've been trying to qualify for this event for the last four years.​"


​Image above:

​Robotics A Team - front row l to r: Seoyeon Park - (Seoyeon was not on the A Team at the 2nd Competition as listed above), Issy Jaojoco ; second row: Hayden Surrette, Geethan Siram, Wyatt Prater, Anjay Dhir , Matthew Silveyra, Dhruv Patel; Back row: Connor Kaefer, Dam​j​an Pasic-Hernandez, Michael Pogorelic and Mr. Pete Farina '87;


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