Auto Students Take Home Gold At SkillsUSA Nationals -

Auto Students Take Home Gold At SkillsUSA Nationals

More than 6,500 career and technical education students competed during the SkillsUSA Championships at the 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference. Here's who took home a win in the automotive, collision, diesel and motorcycle categories.

More than 6,500 career and technical education students competed during the SkillsUSA Championships at the 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC) in Louisville, Kentucky, June 27-28.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the nation’s largest workforce development event for middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in public career and technical education programs.

During the two-day SkillsUSA Championships, high school and college students worked against the clock and each other in hands-on challenges in 102 different trade, technical and leadership fields.

Medalists in the automotive, collision, diesel and motorcycle categories include:

Automotive Service Technology

Competitors demonstrated their ability to perform jobs and skills based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation (formerly known as the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation or NATEF). Workstations consisted of on-vehicle simulations, bench and component testing, and a written test. Competitors were judged on technical competency, accuracy, quality, safety and ability to follow directions.

High School

Gold  –  John Myers, Dennis Technical Education Center, Gold  Boise, Idaho

Silver – Ian Gregor, Doherty High School, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Bronze – Isaac Boyce, Hampshire High School Career Training Center, Romney, West Virginia

College

Gold – Sam Peterson, Saint Cloud Technical and Community College, Saint Cloud, Minnesota

Silver – Andrew Adams, Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kansas

Bronze – Michael Yates, Jefferson Community & Technical College, Louisville, Kentucky

Automotive Refinishing Technology

Competitors demonstrated the ability to perform jobs based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation (formerly known as the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation or NATEF). The competition included a series of workstations to assess skills in areas like surface preparation, spray gun operation, paint mixing, safety precaution implementation and more. The competitors also completed an interview, a written estimate and an ASE written exam.

High School

Gold – Elmer Hernandez, Pickens Technical College, Gold  Aurora, Colorado

Silver – Alec Hoover, Vanguard-Sentinel CTC-Sentinel Campus, Tiffin, Ohio

Bronze – Kyle Coombs, Spanish Fork High School, Spanish Fork, Utah

College

Gold – Scotty George, Utah Valley University, Gold  Orem, Utah

Silver – Ashley Carravallah, Washtenaw Community College, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Bronze – Anthony Black, Alfred State College-School of Applied Technology, Wellsville, New York

Collision Repair Technology

Competitors demonstrated their ability to perform jobs based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation (formerly known as the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation or NATEF). The competition included a series of workstations to assess skills. There was also a written test, and competitors also participate in an interview.

High School

Gold – Caleb Eyler, Warren County Career Center, Warren, Pennsylvania

Silver – Noah Borer, Vanguard-Sentinel CTC-Sentinel Campus, Tiffin, Ohio

Bronze – Abagayle Boden, High School  Aims Community College-Windsor, Greeley, Colorado

College

Gold – Johnathan Wolfe, Wiregrass Georgia Tech College, Gold  Valdosta, Georgia

Silver – Kyle Ray, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Nebraska

Bronze – Juan Alcala, Texas State Tech College-Waco, Waco, Texas

NEW! Collision Damage Appraisal (Demo)

In this new contest in the demo stage, competitors demonstrated their ability to perform jobs and skills based on the task list outlined by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) and the ASE Education Foundation (formerly known as the National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation or NATEF). The competition included a series of workstations to assess skills. There was a written test, and competitors also participated in an interview.

High School

Gold – Lynzi Binder, Carbon Career & Technical Institute, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania

Silver – Jared Arfsten, Career Start, Silver Colorado Springs, Colorado

Bronze – Eric Austin, Career Technical Education Center, Bronze Salem, Oregon

College

Gold – Joel Taft, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Gold Green Bay, Wisconsin

Silver – Michael Kunkle, Aims Community College-Windsor, Silver Greeley, Colorado

Bronze – Cayden Bailey, Utah Valley University, Bronze Orem, Utah

Diesel Equipment Technology

Competitors cycled through 14 stations while testing and troubleshooting engines and electrical, electronics and power train systems (including chassis, transmissions and carriers). Competitors also demonstrated skills in hydraulic systems, vehicle inspections, fundamental- failure analysis, brake and air conditioning systems and general shop skills. The competition also included a mock job interview and written test.

High School

Gold – Nathan Graveling, Careerline Tech Center, Gold  Holland, Michigan

Silver – Mason McKechnie, High School  Carroll County Career & Tech Center, Westminster, Maryland

Bronze – Bryton Frost, Haleyville Center of Technology, Haleyville, Alabama

College

Gold – Cooper Blakeney, Illinois Central College, East Peoria, Illinois

Silver – Matthew Smith, Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, Urah

Bronze – William Cebelak, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, Michigan

Motorcycle Service Technology

Competitors performed tasks representative of those encountered in a dealership’s service department. Technical skills included: performing scheduled maintenance tasks; using service, electrical diagnostic and parts manuals; conducting electrical diagnostics; executing precision measurement; administering brake and chassis/suspension service; inspecting and repairing fuel delivery, transmission, drive and power train systems. Judges looked for clean and organized work habits, correct use of reference materials, the ability to follow directions and good technical skills.

High School

Gold – Hayden Sedlak, Plattsmouth High School, Plattsmouth, Nebraska

Silver – Dylan Miller, Upper Bucks County AVTS, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Bronze – Benjamin Jaenke, Medina County Career Center, Medina, OH

College

Gold – Kevin Neill, Bates Technical College, Tacoma, Washington

Silver – Andrew Janes, WITC- New Richmond, New Richmond, Wisconsin

Bronze – Haley Hughes, State Technical College of Missouri, Bronze Linn, Missouri

For more information about SkillsUSA, visit skillsusa.org.

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