Robo-Hornets make fourth trip to world championships
Harpursville High School's acclaimed robotics team, the 'Robo-Hornets,' recently returned home from the VEX Robotics World Championship in Texas.
885 teams from all over the world competed in the three-day tournament.
The Robo-Hornets made it to the Final 16, ultimately losing in the elimination round.
The team qualified for the competition after winning the state title earlier this year.
Kalen Kulas is a freshman at Harpursville High School. This is his first year on the robotics team. He said competing in the world championship was nerve-wracking but also very exciting.
'It was really surprising. At states, I didn't expect to make it to worlds. I was more than happy making it to States. I had a great time there, and right at the end, I figured out I'd be able to go because I won the Excellence Award, and that was crazy,' said Kulas.
This is the fourth year the Robo-Hornets have qualified for the world championships.
Advisor and Coach Bruce Salisbury has been working with the team for ten years. He says he says he is so proud of the students' hard work and dedication that it makes him emotional. He says the kids and their success always come first.
'They constantly work, just their devotion to doing the best that they can. One person at worlds made the announcement that 'You guys are here because we know you give up your weekends, your holidays. The advisors are there late in the hours.' And everybody looked at me and said, 'Yes, that's describing me,' because the kids come first,' said Salisbury.
The Robo-Hornets' record this year was 7-3.
The team is already working on their robots for next year's season.
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