EWC Prevails at State and National SkillsUSA Competition

July 1, 2010

TORRINGTON, WY –

Eastern Wyoming College students recently traveled to Kansas City to compete in the National SkillsUSA competition.

At the national competition in Kansas City, MO, Brendan Edwards, Douglas, was awarded a gold medal in the secondary welding competition. Edwards, a recent graduate of Douglas High School, has changed his college plans and now will be attending EWC so that he can participate in the welding pre-trial competition.

Blake Parks, Douglas, finished 3rd in the nation for post-secondary schools and received a bronze medal. Parks graduated from EWC in May but will return to work under the tutelage of EWC welding instructor Leland Vetter as he prepares to compete in the welding pre-trials.

Both Parks and Edwards were concurrent EWC students in Douglas under the coaching of Henry Woehl, adjunct and concurrent instructor for EWC.

The welding fabrication team for post-secondary schools included Mitch Falkenburg, Douglas, Miles Fieiro, Cheyenne, and Sam Zalesky, Durango, CO, also competed at nationals but did not finish in the top three spots.

The welding fabrication team for secondary schools included Quentin McGuire, Skeeter Judd and Aaron Jamerman, all of Douglas High School. They are only second-year welders at DHS and placed second in the nation, receiving silver medals.

To compete in the national SkillsUSA competition, held in Kansas City, the students must be the first place finishers at the state competition. Parks was on the winning welding fabrication team for EWC at state but had to make a choice to either weld with the team or individual because they can only compete in one competition.

Both Parks and Edwards have been invited into the national pre-trials where 10 individuals will be given blueprints to construct; these items will then be mailed to judges by September 24. From the 10 competitors, the field will be narrowed to 6 who compete in Atlanta, GA, in November for the right to be one of the three to compete next June at nationals to represent the USA in the international SkillsUSA competition as Chance Pollo did in 2007.