COLUMBUS - Nearly 30 Sentinel Career and Technology Center students placed first, second or third in their contests and received medals during the 60th
annual SkillsUSA Ohio championships Friday and Saturday.
They were among about 150 students representing Vanguard-Sentinel Career and Technology Centers who qualified for the state competition. The school system was represented in nearly 50 of the competition's 86 contests, and about 75 students won medals
Article Photos
PHOTO BY JILL GOSCHE
Seth Bouillon, a senior in Sentinel Career and Technology Center’s building trades program and at New Riegel High School, competes in the state plumbing contest Saturday. He placed first and qualified for national competition. To view more photos from this event, visit cu.advertiser-tribune.com.
Saturday.
"I'm just extremely proud of our students and instructors," said Elissa Heal, Sentinel's director. "It took a lot of hard work, time, dedication and energy to prepare and to compete here this weekend."
Students placing first and winning gold medals are to advance to competition at SkillsUSA National Leadership & Skills Conference June 22-28 in Kansas City, Mo.
Gold medals were won by Sentinel students Seth Bouillon, a senior in the building trades program and at New Riegel High School; Ricardo Galvan, a senior in the automotive technology program and at Fostoria High School; Brandon Hicks, a senior in the building trades program and at Columbian High School; Jason Lucius, a junior in the collision repair program and at New Riegel; Josh Reed, a senior in the collision repair program and at Seneca East High School; Daytona Swartz, a senior in the medical technology program and at Upper Sandusky High School; and Tyler Tyree, a senior in the public safety services program and at Hopewell-Loudon High School.
Sentinel's health knowledge bowl team members, all from the medical technology program, also placed first. Members were seniors Billy Roe, Columbian, and Melanie Scherger, St. Wendelin Catholic School, and juniors Taylor Nye, Old Fort High School, and Alexis Schwilk, Upper Sandusky.
Daniel Williams, a senior in Vanguard Technology Center's computer communications network technician program and at Old Fort, was on the center's entrepreneurship team that won first place. Clyde High School students Casey Harger, Brock Gressman and Blake Smith were on the gold-medal-winning chapter display team for Vanguard Technology Center.
Bouillon, who won the plumbing contest, had competed before and said he was more prepared this year. He said he had a better feel for what he had to do and had more experience. He said his goal was to place in the top three, and he felt like he did well.
"It was exciting," he said about his name being announced as the winner.
Galvan said it was the first time a Sentinel student had won the automotive service technology competition.
"Gold is just awesome," he said.
Galvan said he was slightly nervous but didn't show it. Competitors had to be accurate during the competition, and there was no room for mistakes, he said.
"I'm pretty sure it was pretty close between the top three," he said.
Hicks, whose goal was to at least place in the top three, won the carpentry contest at the state competition and said he felt excited and relieved. The carpentry contest involved competitors building miniature houses, and Hicks said he didn't finish the project.
"No one did," he said.
Lucius, who won the collision repair technology contest, said it was his goal to win, and he thought he did well after the competition. He said it was "awesome" to hear his name announced as the first-place winner.
"(I) couldn't believe I won," he said.
Nye and Roe were members of the winning health knowledge bowl team and already knew the team had won prior to the ceremony because they got to see the scores. Nye said she didn't think the team was going to win, and she and Roe said they thought it would place second or third.
"(Our goal was) to at least place," Nye said.
Reed, who won gold in the automotive refinishing technology contest, said it was his goal to win the contest, and he had practiced for it every night after school. He said he was confident and nervous entering the competition, and it was a big relief to hear his name announced as the winner because of all of the hard work he had put into the competition.
"I felt good," he said.
Swartz won the nurse assisting competition and said she was shocked to hear her name announced for first place. She said she knew she had done well, but she didn't know how other competitors had done.
Her contest involved working on a chart, filling out a job application, going through a job interview and taking a written test.
"I didn't think (it was a hard contest)," she said.
Tyree said it was amazing to win the criminal justice contest, and all his hard work finally had paid off. He said he didn't place last year, and it was his goal this year to win. He said he took the attitude of "go big or go home."
"Last year, I didn't feel as confident," he said.
Williams was a member of an entrepreneurship team through Vanguard Technology Center.
"We had to start our own business and make a business plan for it," he said.
Williams said the group presented summarized points from its 30-page business plan to a group of judges. Team members thought they did well on the presentation, he said.
Tim Lawrence, executive director of SkillsUSA, spoke during Saturday's awards ceremony and said he was impressed with people's focus, passion and determination to work hard.
"You keep going for the gold. ... Thank you for stepping up. Thank you for stepping out. Thank you for being a champion," he said.
