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Top high school, college welders announced in national SkillsUSA competition
- By Rafael Guerrero
- July 26, 2022
Dozens of high school and college students from around the country showcased their outstanding welding and fabrication skills at the 2022 SkillsUSA Championships in Atlanta.
The June competition is the centerpiece of SkillsUSA’s annual National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC), which returned in person following its cancellation in 2020 and a hybrid format in 2021. More than 6,500 high school and college students competed in 108 different trade, technical, and leadership competitions, including three welding categories: welding, welding fabrication, and welding sculpture.
In the end, 30 high school and college competitors went home with gold, silver, or bronze medals—some as individuals and others in teams. Below are the medalists in the welding categories:
Welding
In this category, students tested their skills and knowledge in multiple stations that included measuring weld replicas, using weld measuring gauges, laying out a plate, using oxyacetylene equipment for cutting, gas metal arc welding (GMAW), flux-cored arc welding (FCAW), making welds in various positions, and using a combination machine capable of providing the correct welding current for shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW).
High School Winners
Gold: Matthew Woolcock, Venango Technology Center, Oil City, Pa.
Silver: Trey Lazauskas, Chariho Career Tech Center, Wood River Junction, R.I.
Bronze: Jesse Taggett, Presque Isle Regional CTC, Presque Isle, Maine
College Winners
Gold: Michael Shoemaker, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, Pa.
Silver: Hunter Howard, Northeast Community College, Norfolk, Neb.
Bronze: Armando Urias, Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, N.M.
Welding Fabrication
In this category, contestants had to construct something based on prints provided to them by the competition committee, all while demonstrating their knowledge and skills in multiple welding and cutting processes.
Unlike the other two categories, this was a team competition consisting of teams of three.
High School Winners
Gold: Team K (Camden Elmo, Alaina Myers, Beauen Garman), New Oxford High School, New Oxford, Pa.
Silver: Team V (Bryan Fischli, Connor Kurtz, Andrew Rimes), The Mount Academy, Esopus, N.Y.
Bronze: Team R (Elijah Bothwell, Ty Coshow, Jack Doyle), Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Neb.
College Winners
Gold: Team E (Walter Armijo, Christopher Rodriguez, Zane Horton), Central New Mexico Community College, Albuquerque, N.M.
Silver: Team U (Colton Bradford, Edgar Galicia, Noland Vahle), North Central Kansas Technical College, Beloit, Kan.
Bronze: Team M (Alex Cahoone, Matthew Mykut, Tanner Sidella), Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, Lancaster, Pa.
Welding Sculpture
In this category contestants designed, produced, and displayed a welded sculpture; no live welding was actually done in Atlanta. The students were interviewed and required to describe all aspects of their creation. The contestants also brought in a notebook displaying evidence of them creating their original piece.
High School Winners
Gold: Damon R. Aitken, Albert Lowry High School, Winnemucca, Nev.
Silver: Sofia Ramirez-Granick, Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School, Marlborough, Mass.
Bronze: Jocelyn Jarnigan, Unaka High School, Elizabethton, Tenn.
College Winners
Gold: Clinton Kizarr, Red River Technology Center, Duncan, Okla.
Silver: Jonathan Thoma, Tennessee College of Applied Technology - Crossville, Crossville, Tenn.
Bronze: Alexander Baker, State Technical College of Missouri, Linn, Mo.
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The Welder, formerly known as Practical Welding Today, is a showcase of the real people who make the products we use and work with every day. This magazine has served the welding community in North America well for more than 20 years.
start your free subscriptionAbout the Author
Rafael Guerrero
2135 Point Blvd.
Elgin, IL 60123
(815)-227-8242
Rafael Guerrero. was named editor of The Welder in April 2022. He spent nine years as a journalist in newspapers in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, covering topics and communities in central Illinois, Washington, and the Chicago area.
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