Robotics Makes Montini History and Are Headed to VEX Worlds!
Barb Dawson • March 17, 2023

Robotics Makes Montini History - and Are Headed to VEX Worlds!

Montini Catholic's Robotics Team (82997A) won the top honor on Saturday, March 11th at the VEX Illinois State Championship Tournament on the Millikin University campus in Decatur. The Bronco team won the Excellence Award which VEX describes as "the highest award presented in the VEX Robotics State competition." The Excellence Award is presented to a team that exemplified overall excellence in building a high-quality robotics program. "This team is a strong contender in numerous award categories and a top performer at the State tournament."


It was earning the Excellence Award that qualified 82997A ("A") for the VEX Worlds 2023 Tournament which will take place at The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas on April 25-27. Eight-hundred teams from the USA and over 30 other countries will gather to compete for top honors in the largest high school robotics competition in the world.


Montini's "A" team also won the 2nd Place Trophy in the Robotics Skills Challenge which is the single robot competition that is used to rank robotics teams worldwide. The team achieved a score of 305 which currently places them 200th out of almost 6,000 teams worldwide - placing Montini's Broncos in the top 3% of all VEX teams this season. "We've got our work cut out for us to get that score up even higher in the weeks ahead before Worlds," said an ecstatic Pete Farina '87, Montini Catholic's Technology Director and Robotics Coach.


"The judges at State confirmed what I knew in my heart to be true all season," added Farina, "82997A is the all-around best VEX team in the State of Illinois! Their determination to make it to Worlds 2023 was truly remarkable and ultimately unstoppable! They have made it to the highest level of high school robotics competition in the entire world and they have received more honors and awards than any robotics team in Montini Catholic history!" Farina in his memo to his team members asked them to "Take a moment to savor this victory and all that you have achieved. Our journey together this season is not yet over! We have one more destination, one last mountain to climb together!"


Montini's Robotics "A" team has celebrated many milestones this season, the first of which was qualifying for the State Competition in December - the earliest qualification the team has enjoyed since competing in VEX. At a VEX tournament on March 5th they made history once again by being ranked #1 in the State and earning the Amaze Award for having the highest scoring robot at the tournament! During the same tournament, Robotics Team 82997B "B," who took 2nd place in skills and were ranked #8 in state! 


Coach Farina and his team are now focused on VEX Worlds and will spend many after-school hours in the next six weeks working on an updated robot design. "Words can't express how happy we were to get the news of the team's success," said President Jim Segredo. "We are so proud of these students. Their hard work and drive for success are incredible. We can't wait to see what they get done in Dallas!"


The members of Montini Catholic Robotics Team 82997A are:
Angela Banov '23 (Lombard), Thomas Cyze '23 (Willowbrook), Anjay Dhir '24 (Lombard), Matthew DiSimone '23 (Bensenville), Conor Kaefer '25 (Lombard), Will Prater '23 (Naperville), Wyatt Prater '25 (Naperville), Alex Silveyra '23 (Carol Stream), Matthew Silveyra '25 (Carol Stream) and Hayden Surrette '25 (Downers Grove)


The members of Montini Catholic Robotics Team 82997B are:

Dhruv Patel '24 (Bolingbrook), Damjan Pasic-Hernandez '24 (Lombard), Michael Pogorelec '24 (Woodridge), Frank Flores '24 (Bloomingdale) and Issy Jaojoco '25 (Bolingbrook)

Image above:  Robotics Team "A" after earning the Excellence Award at VEX State:  l to r: Alex Silveyra, Angela Banov, Will Prater, William Cyze, Anjay Dhir, Conor Kaefer, Hayden Surrette, Matthew DiSimone, Wyatt Prater and Matthew Silveyra


SHARE THIS POST
By Barb Dawson June 19, 2025
New friends were made and high school anxieties calmed on Thursday, 12th at Montini Catholic High School's First Step Social welcoming their Class of 2029. Montini Catholic's First Step Social is the first opportunity for Montini's newest freshmen to begin building class spirit and to get to know their fellow classmates and future friends. The informal event, facilitated by the school's Admissions team, included several small group games, led by members of Montini's Peer Ministry Team, intended to break the ice and get freshmen excited about their high school years. Parents were also invited to attend and gathered in a separate location in order to meet up with current parent ambassadors, ask questions and gain more insight in preparation for the next four years. Students and parents were treated to burgers and hotdogs via Tailgate Caterers in Lombard. "It was very exciting to have so many new Broncos and their parents on Montini Catholic's campus for our First Step Social," said Admissions Coordinator Sara McGady. "The goal of this event is to provide our new freshmen with a sense of familiarity when they walk through our doors again in August. We also wanted to give our new parents a chance to ask questions and meet fellow parents as they start their new journey as high school parents."
By Barb Dawson June 19, 2025
Montini Catholic was proud to honor fifteen special seniors on May 16th at the Lasallian college preparatory high school's Celebration of Excellence Awards ceremony. The group represents what Montini Catholic endearingly defines as their graduating "Legacy Students" - students of alumni parents who also graduated from Montini Catholic. This year fifty-two 52 total students of alumni are carrying on their parents' legacies at Montini Catholic, a number that represents close to 10% of Montini's total student body. Each year senior legacy students are called up on stage to receive a special stole to be worn at graduation. Alumni parents are also invited to take a special portrait with their senior as a keepsake on graduation day. "We are always honored when our alumni return as Montini parents to continue our Bronco legacy," said Alumni Relations Officer William Dawes '13. "When you are at Montini Catholic, you are family, which is one of the main reasons parents choose Montini. An education at Montini is a unique experience and we love to see our legacy grow with each passing year." Montini Catholic's 2024-25 Legacy Seniors (alumni parent(s) under students' names): Katelyn (Kat) Bell ‘25 Jackson Bell ‘27 Patrick Bell ‘96 Peter Considine ‘25 Michael Considine ‘86 Annalee DeFeo ‘25 Laura (LaMontagna) DeFeo ’93 & Michael DeFeo ‘93 Nolan Ferris ‘25 Shannon (O’Connor) Ferris ‘93 James Fitzpatrick ‘25 Michael Fitzpatrick ‘88 Zoe Gangas ‘25 Nick Gangas ‘81 Sean Hubeny ‘25 Katie (Doll) Hubeny ’96 & James Hubeny ‘96 Nick Irion ‘25 and Vince Irion ‘25 Dave Irion ‘88 Vincent Knudtson ‘25 Lia (Badalamenti) Knudtson ‘89 Jamie Loftus ‘25 Christina (Connelly) Loftus ‘86 Margaret Nielsen ‘25 Maureen (O’Neill) Nielsen ‘87 Ava Sebben ‘25 Patricia (Gary) Sebben ‘90 Lily Spanos ‘25 Shannon (Herold) Spanos ‘99 Collins Whitfield ‘25 Katherine (Janko) Whitfield ‘00 Collins Whitfield ‘00 Image above: Front l to r: Lily Spanos, Ava Sebben, Margaret Nielsen, Jamie Loftus, Sean Hubeny, Zoe Gangas, Nolan Ferris, Annalee DeFeo and Kat Bell; Back row l to r: Collins Whitfield, Vincent Knudtson, Vince Irion, Nick Irion, Jimmy Fitzpatrick and Peter Considine;
By Barb Dawson June 13, 2025
Montini Catholic congratulates senior Julia Gergen on being this year's recipient of the Jean Diane Colletti Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is one of several that have been named and endowed by Montini Catholic alumni, parents and friends in order to provide financial assistance to graduates pursuing higher learning in college. The award was announced at the Lasallian college preparatory high school's annual Academic Awards Banquet (May 1st) this spring by Dr. Vince Colletti DDS '05 (son of Jean Diane Colletti) Julia was honored again on May 16th at Montini's Celebration of Excellence Award ceremony in front of the entire student body. Julia has been a very academically accomplished student throughout their four years at Montini Catholic. In May she received the President's Award for Academic Excellence, she is an Illinois State Scholar and a College Board Advanced Placement Scholar. Julia was also a member of Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society as well as Montini's National Honor Society where she served as Secretary her senior year. She enjoyed her time as a member of Montini's Math Team, and celebrated their 6th Place State finish this year. Julia also valued her experience gained from serving her fellow students as a Peer Minister through Montini's Campus Ministry program. Athletically, Julia was a valued member of Montini's Track & Field Team and celebrated securing school records her junior year in the 4x100m and 4x200m races. "Julia has been an outstanding student," said Principal Chris Tiritilli. "Her academic and athletic career here at Montini has been quite extensive and impressive. She is never seen without a smile on her face, she has been a role model to her fellow students. She truly deserves this recognition and we know she will do great things at Notre Dame!" Julia, a St. Pius X Parish School alum, and a member of St. Pius X Parish. She plans on majoring in Biological Sciences on a Pre-Med Track at the University of Notre Dame in the fall. Above: Julia Gergen '25 and Dr. Vince Colletti DDS '05 at Montini Catholic's Academic Awards Night on May 1st.
More Posts