LEWISTON, Idaho – Lewis-Clark State College Career & Technical Education students took home five first-place finishes and earned nine medals overall in various categories in the Idaho SkillsUSA competitions that were held around the state earlier this month.
The statewide contests serve to help evaluate contestants’ preparation for employment and to recognize outstanding students for excellence in various facets of manufacturing and technical fields.
The overall winners in each category qualified for the SkillsUSA national competition, which will be held June 24-28 in Louisville, Ky.
The LCSC Manufacturing Club took seven students to Boise to compete in various competitions related to machining and manufacturing and six earned medals, including four gold. Jake Sowards of Pullman, Wash., Mitchel Maxwell of Caldwell, John Salesky of Priest River, and Harley Wormgoor of Moscow all took first in their respective competitions. All seven competitors are in their second year of their respective programs.
Sowards won the CNC Milling competition. He was given six hours to manually program a difficult aluminum part and then had to take a written test covering program skills. Maxwell won the CNC Turning (lathe) competition. He also was only given six hours to manually program a difficult part and to pass a written test covering programming skills. Keven Hedden, who is from Kamiah, finished second to Maxwell. All three students are in the CNC Machining program at LCSC.
Salesky was captured first in the Technical Drawing competition. He had to solve several engineering design problems and then document the solutions by producing several computer-aided drafting (CAD) software drawings using Solidworks. He also had to pass a written test covering drafting standards, on which he recorded the highest score of all the competitors on. He is enrolled in the Engineering Technology program at LCSC.
Wormgoor, who will graduate this spring with an associates of applied science degree in Engineering Technology, won the Architectural Drafting competition, while Julian Humphrey of Idaho Falls was third. This competition consisted of a 50-question written test, a resume, and a two-part drafting/design problem. Participants were given eight hours to complete the problem. Part one of the problem was a hand drafting and architectural lettering exercise that required competitors to develop a hand sketch of a two-story wall section through an exterior townhouse wall. Part two was to design and draw a three-story single-family townhouse that is between 1,800 and 2,100 square feet using CAD. The design had to include a full kitchen, 2-3 bedrooms, living space, a single or double garage, outdoor porches, and decks.
In addition to the medalists, LCSC’s Jay Killgore of Clarkston finished fourth in the CNC Machining Technology competition.
In Diesel Technology, James Cornia of Grangeville captured first place. The sophomore competed against students from six other Idaho colleges at the Western State Caterpillar dealership in Meridian. The competition consisted of a written test as well as a 12-station hands-on test in the shop. Cornia commutes each day during the week from Grangeville in order to complete his Diesel Technology degree.
In the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC-R) competition, which was held at LCSC’s Wittman Complex, Stephen Weber placed second and earned a silver medal. Weber is a sophomore from Las Vegas, Nev., and will continue with his education at LCSC while working at McCoy Plumbing and Heating in Moscow.
Anthony Cole, who grew up in North Carolina, but now calls Lewiston home, placed third in the Information Technology Services competition. In his competition, Cole had to understand Windows and Linux computer environments, demonstrate professionalism and customer service skills, track down and eliminate Malware on a computer system without the use of antivirus/antimalware software, and troubleshoot computer network problems. While attending LCSC, he also works for the Information Technology Help Desk at the college.
LCSC does well annually in these state competitions and regularly qualifies students for the SkillsUSA national contests. In 2014, Beau Tippett won a gold medal in HVAC competition at the national meet.