
The Vex World Championships are nothing new to the dedicated teams of John Bapst. Under the guidance of instructor Mr. Mike Murphy, Engineering and Technology Department Chair, a number of John Bapst teams have competed internationally and returned home with numerous awards and accolades.
The John Bapst team qualifying for the Vex High School World Championship this year is the “Guppies,” composed of seven members: captain Giuseppe Aulisa ’25, Josh Igw ’24, Oscar Martinez ’25, Logan Hart ’25, Connor Stanley ’25, and Bob Huang ’26. Also onboard is Dedham Middle School student Elliott Tankel, who plans on attending John Bapst next year.
The formation of the Guppies began last year. That team included Lucien Bilodeau ’23, Josh Igwe, and Giuseppe Aulisa. Last year, at the states competition, they were very close to qualifying for worlds, but ultimately didn’t make it. “One of the main lessons we learned was that we were overworked, being a small team,” explains Giuseppe. “Learning from this, Josh and I set off to look for people who could assist with building this team into a powerhouse. Both being a part of the John Bapst soccer team, we connected with Oscar and Logan. In the beginning, they weren’t convinced robotics was for them, but because of the flexibility that John Bapst allows, they have been able to balance their sports, robotics, and education efficiently. The same goes for Bob, who is a part of the football and hockey team. Our final high school member is Connor Stanley. He was recommended to me by Logan and Oscar and fits in perfectly with our team and it’s spirit.”
The Guppies have found that teamwork is extremely important in robotics competition. Team members all have their separate roles. Josh Igwe is the driver and assistant builder, Logan is the main builder, Oscar and Bob are the coders, and Connor is the scout. Elliott is learning to code and has experience with building. The team feels this youngest member will contribute greatly next year when he is fully enrolled at John Bapst. Giuseppe is the team captain and, notebooker, documenting everything the team does.
One of the biggest things the team has learned is being able to stay calm under pressure. Recalls Giuseppe, “the biggest example of this was a recent weekend in Portland, for the state championship. On Friday, both of our coding runs for skills did not work, and that made both Bob and Oscar very stressed about the possibility of the code not working, which could have cost us our chance at making worlds. Even though they were stressed and worried they were able to have fun with the team that night. This helped clear everyone’s mind and allowed the team to successfully adjust and run the code and qualify for the worlds. One of our biggest keys to success is our friendship. Our team has a very tight bond and this bond allows us to not only have fun but also work hard and trust each other. This is one of the things that Josh and I initially looked for because we knew that an environment where everyone trusts each other would yield positive results.
This year, the Guppies have tied the John Bapst record of most trophies won in a season (12), and have also have won the most trophies of any team in Maine. Out of these 12 trophies, 4 are for being tournament champions, 4 are for being skills champions, 2 are for being excellence award winners, and the last 2 trophies were won at states (Skills champions and the Amaze award).
-Giuseppe Aulisa, with Eric Zelz
The John Bapst community is proud of our robotics teams, and the dedication and hard work displayed by the students and their instructor, Mr. Mike Murphy. All this takes personal and financial commitment. If you’d like to support robotics at John Bapst, please consider a gift at www.johnbapst.org/give/we_are_back and specify “Robotics” in the “Is this donation restricted? Yes” category on the online giving sheet.
Thank you.