Brandon Fagerlie and Nicholas Lintz, seniors at Kentridge High School, and Alex Pfaff and Michael Moloney, seniors at Kentwood High School, will compete as teams against eight other Washington high schools to diagnose and debug a Ford vehicle in 90 minutes at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills state finals May 4.

This year marks the 61st anniversary of the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills state finals competition for juniors and seniors in secondary schools and colleges (serving local high schools) that offer courses in automotive technology. The contest is aimed at encouraging students to pursue a career in the automotive field.

The competition will run 10-11:30 a.m. May 4 at Renton Technical College, Automotive Quad. Spectators and the media are welcome. The students are competing for $110,000 in college scholarships and a chance to compete at the national competition in June.

“The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition rewards aspiring automotive technicians and, we hope, inspires them to get the best training possible so that they can embark on promising careers in the automotive repair industry,” said John Milbrath, vice president of Automotive Services at AAA Washington. “This competition is especially relevant during a time when the job market is extremely challenging for young adults.”

Each year, high schools and skills centers with an automotive program are invited to have their students take an online exam that tests their mathematical and computer diagnostic skills as related to the automotive industry. The top 10 high schools send their two highest-scoring students to the “hands-on” competition in hopes of representing Washington state at the national finals at Ford’s Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan in June.

The other schools participating in the contest are: Clark County Skills Center, New Market Skills Center, Spokane Skills Center, Olympic High School, Tri Tech Skills Center, Decatur High School, North Thurston High School, Moses Lake High School, Clark County Skills Center, New Market Skills Center, Spokane Skills Center, Olympic High School, Tri Tech Skills Center, Decatur High School, North Thurston High School and Moses Lake High School.