Teams from Kentlake and Kentridge high schools competed at the state-level Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Challenge.
Team Kentlake, comprised of students William Miller and Ryan Sorge, under the instruction of David Lewis, finished second in the hands-on state competition at Renton Technical College. Bowen Scarff Ford in Kent provided the team with a 2013 Focus SE to prepare for competition.
Kentridge – students Tanner Zeiler and Steven Johnson with instructor George Sichting – was eighth. Scarff Ford in Auburn helped the team prepare for competition by providing vehicles and equipment.
The teams, one from each school, completed an initial online exam earlier this year to qualify for the state competition. Team Kentridge took first in the knowledge (online) portion of the competition. Johnson was fifth and Zeiler ninth in the nation.
Two students from Kennewick’s Tri-Tech Skills Center won the competition. Eder Samaniego and Gerardo Rico each earned more than $23,000 in scholarships and will advance to represent Washington in the national finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., June 9-11.
Rico and Samaniego raced to diagnose and repair intentionally installed “bugs” in 2013 Ford Focus SE vehicles, earning first place among the 10 competing teams.
Winning teams from the state challenge will showcase their automotive problem-solving capabilities by resolving “real-world” repair challenges in a timed, head-to-head match-up of top teams representing all 50 states.
The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Challenge is a nationwide automotive technology competition that offers nearly $12 million in scholarships and prizes to high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians. More than 13,000 students from across the U.S. compete for the chance to represent their school and state in the National Finals. The competition tests students’ automotive knowledge, workmanship and problem-solving abilities.
The challenge enables many of its participants to embark on promising careers in the automotive repair industry to help fuel the rising demand for well-trained technicians who can repair both computer and mechanical components in today’s advanced vehicles.
This is the 64th year of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.
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