The Hastings High School team of Andrew Rutt and Tanner Cline captured
first place in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition held Thursday at
the Milford Campus of Southeast Community College.
The competition is open to high school
juniors and seniors in secondary schools and colleges (serving local high
schools) that offer courses in automotive technology and have at least one
full-time or part-time automotive instructor.
Rob Schuster is the instructor for Hastings.
Ten two-person teams representing high
schools from across Nebraska competed in the event. On Thursday, each team raced
against the clock to correctly diagnose and repair deliberately “bugged” Ford
vehicles. A combination of the online exam and hands-on competition scores determined
the championship team. Rutt and Cline will now advance to compete in the national
finals at Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., June 7-9.
Following a written exam, the teams will face
off in a timed competition during which they are required to diagnose and
repair a different set of “bugs” in a 2015 Ford vehicle. The team with the best
combined written test and hands-on competition scores will earn the national
title.
Prior to Thursday, each participant was
required to take the state qualifying exams.
The 10 highest-scoring two-person teams were selected to advance to the
state finals, with only one team eligible per instructor.
SCC offers the Ford Automotive StudentService Educational Training program, a partnership between the College and
Ford Motor Co. in cooperation with Ford and Lincoln dealers. Students entering
the program must secure a Ford or Lincoln dealer to sponsor them during
training.
Thursday’s results:
1, Hastings: Andrew Rutt and Tanner Cline;
Rob Schuster, instructor.
2, Tekamah-Herman: Zach Ackerman and Dylan Larson;
Graig McElmuray, instructor.
3, North Platte: Ryan Prevenas and Trevor
Lee; William Kalblinger, instructor.
4, Lincoln High: Taylor Hillhouse and
Marcelles Cherry; Donald Simpson, instructor.
5, Beatrice: Dominic Maguire and Kyle Wienke;
Chuck Brockman, instructor.
6, O’Neill: Blake Walters and Kyle Fowler;
Allen Spangler, instructor.
7, Gering: Nathan Adams and Daniel Waddle;
Rick Kinnaman, instructor.
8, Omaha Public School Career Center: Matthew
Summers and Extacy Keeran; David Pippert, instructor.
9, Omaha Public School Career Center: Brandon
Morris and Ricardo Garcia-Abrego; John Taff, instructor.
10, Columbus: Ross Makovicka and Ivan
Menjivar; Ron Haefner, instructor.
More than $120,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded at the
Nebraska state competition. Rick Morphew, program chair of SCC’s automotive
programs on the Milford Campus, serves as the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills
Challenge state contest manager.
All new vehicles used in the contest were provided by Hertz
Corporation. The state contest was organized and sponsored by AAA, Ford Motor
Company, the Nebraska Department of Education, SCC, NAPA Auto, and Hertz
Corporation.