SkillsUSA has announced the winners of its annual championships in Automotive Refinish and Collision Repair Technology. More than 6,000 career and technical education students ventured to Kansas City, Mo., to compete in 99 different trade, technical and leadership fields.
Working against the clock and each other, the participants proved their expertise in job skills for occupations such as electronics, technical drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts. There were also competitions in leadership skills, such as extemporaneous speaking and conducting meetings by parliamentary procedures.
In the Automotive Refinishing contest, contestants 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 National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF). The competition includes a series of workstations to assess skills in the following areas: surface preparation; spray gun operation; paint mixing, matching and applying; solving paint application problems; determining finish defects, causes and cures; and utilization of safety precautions. Each competitor also completed an interview, a written estimate and an ASE written exam. The overall appearance of the finished product, speed and proper safety practices were judged.
Student competitors in Collision Repair Technology demonstrated their ability to perform jobs and skills based on the task list outlined by ASE and NATEF. The competition includes a series of workstations to assess skills in the following areas: metal straightening, welding, plastic repair and structural analysis. The overall appearance of the finished product, speed and proper safety practices were judged. Each student was required to complete written tests on estimating, structural analysis and an ASE exam, as well as an interview.
Medalists in Refinish and Collision Repair include:
Automotive Refinish Technology – High School
- Gold: Lane Metheny, Polytech High School, Woodside, Del.
- Silver: Joseph Wyngowski, Pathfinder Vo Tech, Palmer, Mass.
- Bronze: Tristan Hughes, Washburn Tech, Topeka, Kan.
Automotive Refinish Technology – College/Post-Secondary
- Gold: Jose Martinez-Joya, Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove, Ill.
- Silver: Zach Mullen, Southwestern Community College, Creston, Iowa
- Bronze: Doug Clemens, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah
Collision Repair Technology – High School
- Gold: Dustin Benner, Vanguard-Sentinel CTC-Sentinel Campus, Tiffin, Ohio
- Silver: Cory Petit, Washburn Tech, Topeka, Kan.
- Bronze: Joseph Epperson, Pittsylvania Career & Technology Center, Chatham, Va.
Collision Repair Technology – High School
- Gold: Gavin Johnson, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah
- Silver: Tyler Cauble, Hutchinson Career & Technical Academy, Hutchinson, Kan.
- Bronze: Elise Groenewold, Dakota County Tech College, Rosemount, Minn.
More information:
