Taylor Sobus and Greg Sabin from Decatur High School will compete against nine other Washington State teams for the chance to represent the state in the national 2011 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition this summer.
The statewide hands-on competition is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, at Renton Technical College. The top team from that challenge will go on to the national competition June 12-14 in Dearborn, Mich., where it will showcase its 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.
Sobus’ and Sabin’s instructor at Decatur High School is Luke Thompson.
The team has been preparing for the state competition by visiting Scarff Ford in Auburn where they can get hands-on experience with a 2012 Mustang.
“Ford vehicles continue to increase in technology and advanced features, so our technicians need to be highly skilled and well-educated to provide a high level of customer service,” Way Scarff said. “We’re proud to be able to help train tomorrow’s auto professionals.”
Students who do well in the national competition can win scholarships, savings bonds, trophies, jackets, certificates, shop manuals, trips and automotive equipment. Last year’s contest awarded a record-high $11.5 million in scholarships to the participants, which was comprised of more than 10,500 juniors and seniors.
In the 2010 national competition, a team from Kennewick, Richard Harvey and Ben Quesnell, scored among the top 10 teams.
The other nine teams competing in the statewide competition on May 3 are:
• Andrew Mudge and Scott Birdsell, Kentridge High School
• Brendal Wheelwright and Robart Butnar, Bellevue High School
• Dakota Berge and Maksim Salfetnikov, Clark County Skills Center (Vancouver)
• Nick Shanks and Chris Geer, New Market Vocational Skills Center (Olympia)
• Adam King and Jacob Dransfield, Bothell High School
• Josh Sheldon and Ryan Kettenberg, Spokane Skills Center
• Kris Gramley and TJ Thompson, Enumclaw High School
• Garrett Madden and Jacob Sutter, North Thurston High School (Lacey)
• Miguel Tobon and Edgar Guzman, Tri-Tech Skills Center (Kennewick)
