By Sarah Stephens
Elmore Autauga News
Stanhope Elmore High Robotics students came home earlier this month as big winners in the VEX World Championship Robotics finals. They are the 2025 Division Champions.
SkillsUSA members Annie Flanagan, Vohn Barnes and JROTC member Tristan Davis made history for SEHS, and the team is already preparing for next year’s competitions.
Coach Blake Cook and Command Sgt. Major Nathaniel Bartee, Sr. could not be prouder of this amazing outcome and give all the credit to the students who participated.
SEHS Principal Ewell Fuller said this is “a huge deal. I am just amazed at these students and what they have accomplished with the program.”
He said that this year’s team members competed throughout the year, but funding has been an issue.
“Funding is a real thing with them because it is low revenue generating. However, what they have accomplished will bring light on that and have the businesses and organizations around us continue to contribute.”
Fuller said he has reached out to officials to improve the Robotics program when it comes to work and practice areas, and the ability to take part in more competitions.
“To get them out there to Dallas, think about all the things that went into that.”
Just a few of the expenses include hotels, travel, transportation, and food. It all adds up, and the funds are not always there for various competitions between VEX and SkillsUSA among them.
The EAN sat down recently with Coach Cook, Command Sergeant Major Bartee and team leader/student Vohn Barnes to talk about the history that has been made, and the hard work it took to get there.
“We had two teams this season. The total number of kids was about seven. This particular team made up our JROTC team. There is not really a distinction throughout the season between JROTC and other teams. They compete just like anyone else does. There are some special competitions they do so they can qualify for the national competition.”
In the regular season the teams won multiple SkillsUSA competitions, an innovative award, a tournament championship and most recently Division Champions at World Competition. They also finished third in the earlier SkillsUSA competition at the National level. SkillsUSA is a component of career and technical education.
The most recent VEX competition was held in Dallas May 9-11. “We only sent one team. There were different levels of competition. Another team earned a bid to a different competition, but we did not have the money to go.”
Cook said thankfully JROTC was able to help provide travel for the team that did compete.
“Guardian Credit Union has been a huge supporter. They gave us a donation in the past and this year they helped us out a lot.”
The team was able to compete against 2,700 other teams. There were 147 JROTC teams at the competition.
The team went through 12 different qualifications and eventually paired with the #2 seeded team from Nebraska for four elimination rounds. SEHS won that division, that put them into qualifications with other teams.
Cook said the competitions are almost a cross between hockey and NASCAR. “You have four robots on the field beating and banging against each other. A lot of things can go wrong. It has happened to us in the past. We have had the best team in the competition, and something weird happens. Like a battery being disconnected, or our alliance partner is walking and slips in water and falls on top of his robot. That happened to us at the state championship.”
Being the first team in Alabama to ever compete in the National Finals EVER is a tremendous accomplishment.
“The kids always say they are trying to get to the Dome. I was backstage when they came out. We went last year, but we didn’t make it to the finals. This year I didn’t know what to expect. There were probably five to six thousand people in the Dome area. I thought about what it was like for our students to do what they do in front of an audience like that. It was a really good experience,” Coach Cook said.
Sgt. Major Bartee attended the competition, and said it was “electrifying” to see the students come out onto the stage.
“Vohn and Annie Flanagan were our SkillsUSA State Champions. They will represent us in in Atlanta in June for that competition. This is their second year in a row to do that,” Coach Cook said.
Principal Fuller spoke highly of Vohn Barnes, saying that Vohn isn’t always talkative in general, but it is amazing to watch him come alive and get involved with the Robotics program.
After high school, Vohn said he is interested in pursuing mechanical engineering or computer science. He is 16 and an eleventh grader. He is already making plans for competitions for his senior year.
Command Sgt. Major Bartee said the world has changed in the way of robotics, and the influence it is having on the military. “Programs like this are propping us up to move forward as a nation.” He said the use of autonomous (unmanned) devices is instrumental for protecting the military. “You are taking kids off the road and saving lives. That is a huge win for us.”
As for working at the Robotics Coach, Cook said it came from being a teacher in computer science. The computer science program started eight years ago with 13 original students. Now that is all he teaches, as the program has grown tremendously.
“I did it for two years right before COVID, and we were in a different type of competition. Then another person took it over. When she left I did it again.”
At the time, Cook said Vohn was the only student dedicated to it. “We had two teams last year, but the number of students was half of what we have this year. They finished fourth in the nation last year in the SkillsUSA challenge. That is all on them. I just show up. They do it all.”
In speaking of Vohn, Cook said he has come so far. “He was very reluctant to talk to anyone. Now at this most recent competition, we get there. There are kids from all over the country, and they are coming up to our table, the pit, wanting to know where Vohn is. He is communicating with people all over the world. That is one of the most enjoyable things about it. I get a lot of satisfaction in seeing that.”
Vohn said, “I really like to be able to talk to others and see how well something I have built has performed against others. This last competition, I put a lot of time into 3D modeling before I actually built it. I had to learn a lot about coding algorithms for movement as far as making movements for the programming, where I am not controlling it. I just press a button, and it does what it wants to do.”
Vohn started with Robotics in sixth grade at Millbrook Middle School with his teacher Carrie Licina who he said made it really fun. “She spent her own time, staying later, to let me do a little more. She really boosted my passion for it.”
Command Sgt. Major Bartett said, “Being this is my first year attending the competition, looking at this team, and Coach Cook, the way he trained them and his patience he had. I thought it was spot on perfect.
“The team itself, the way it operated, it was like best friends. It was teamwork. And Vohn led that. He was on a mission. So, when it comes to this mission, I am so proud of Vohn, and the entire team. Huge shout out to Mr. Cook. They do it themselves, but they need guidance. And Mr. Cook was that guidance.”
Coach Cook had high praise for the other two team members as well in Annie and Tristan.
“Annie was our notebook person. They have to keep an engineering notebook which takes down everything they do, every change they make, every conversation they have about what they think they need to do. Annie had to describe the thought process behind what they were trying to do. She has come a long way also.
“Tristan came on a little bit late but contributed a lot as far as strategy ideas. He will tell you he is the guy that goes and gets the batteries. Those are things that are very helpful. Tristan was kind of like our fireman. When something came up and we had to have it, he would make sure we had it. It really and truly is a team effort. You cannot do it without things that Annie and Tristan did. They really did work very well together.”
As for the robot that the team created together, it had a very special name in “Colonel Tony.” It is in honor of former SEHS JROTC instructor Anthony “Tony” Bonasera who retired last year and has experienced some health issues. All agreed his influence is still felt at SEHS and the program today is a continuation of his leadership.
The EAN looks forward to covering more success stories of Robotics programs in our area. Thank you to all of the educators who have played a part in molding the students’ brilliant minds.
