By Tim Leeds
The winners of the 30th Annual SkillsUSA-VICA Conference were announced in an awards ceremony at the Montana State University-Northern gymnasium yesterday.
More than 300 students came from 24 high schools to Northern to compete in categories from cabinet making, drafting and air cooled enging repair to job interview and extemporaneous speaking.
Winners in some categories now qualify to compete in the national conference in Kansas City, Mo., June 25-29.
On the high school level, the winners in air cooled gas engine repair were Ray Beyl from Bozeman High School, first; Jon Thiel from Billings Career Center, second; Pat Brewer from Jefferson High School in Boulder, third;
Architectural drafting one, Shawn Steber, Powell County High School in Deer Lodge, first; Marty Beck, Powell County, second; Matt Vogele, from Broadwater High School in Townsend, third;
Architectural drafting two, Mark Ophus, Great Falls High School, first; Josh Herman, Sydney High School, second; Zeb Engstrom, Chester High School, third;
Architectural drafting three, Chris Arvik, Sydney, first, James Keelan, Powell County, second; Mike Faul, Sydney, third;
Automotive service technology, Josh Klein, Capital High School in Helena, first; Joe Baumgart, Capital, second; Jake Mindt, Sydney, third;
Basic welding, Jon Williams, Chester, first; Colt Diemert, Billings Career Center, second; Aaron Freivalds, Chester, third;
Basic Wood Technology, Travis Crismore, Powell County, first; Matthew Widhalm, Valier High School, second; David Boren, Troy High School, third;
Cabinet making, Jacob McGough, Sydney, first; Jenny O'Connel, Helena High School, second; Jonas Canney, Capital, third;
Carpentry, Jace Redd, Valier, first; Henry Flatow, Helena High, second; Ben Mitchell, Fairfield High School, third;
Collision repair technology, Alex Hooker, Red Lodge High School, first; Jake Monroe, Helena High, second; Dan Brown, Red Lodge, third;
Diesel equipment technology, Scott Aye, Custer County High School in Miles City, first; Bobbie McCauley, Cut Bank High School, second;
Extemporaneous speaking, Anthony Harden, Jefferson High School, first; Andrea Hicks, Jefferson, second; Addy Lord, Helena High, third;
Fundamental drafting one, Geoff Osterman, Chester, first; Dan Horning, Jefferson, second; Adam Johnson, Jefferson, third;
Fundamental drafting two, Josh Schwartz, Colstrip High School, first; Pam Gaworski, Bozeman High School, second; John Hibbs, Troy, third;
Fundamental drafting three, Cory Benner, Jefferson, first; Luke Bischoff, Helena High, second; Al Marsh, Jefferson, third;
Job interview, Tim Swiechowicz, C. M. Russell High School in Great Falls, first; Derin Gebhardt, Roundup High School, second; Laura Vaira, Lambert High School, third;
Job skill demonstration, Jake Monroe, first; Tyrell Murfitt, second; Doug O'Donnel, third, all from Helena High;
Precision machining technology, David Pemble, Colstrip, first, David Steppler, Lambert, second; Clayton Douglas, Bozeman, third;
Prepared speech, Jace Redd, Valier, first; Marjorie Dafoe, Chester, second; Luke Bischoff, Helena High, third;
Technical drafting one, Greg Welch, Broadwater High School in Townsend, first; Jason Beug, Red Lodge, second; David Tuss, Jefferson, third;
Technical drafting two, James Wyatt, C. M. Russell, first; Ben Chaet, Helena High, second; Tim Swiechowicz, C. M. Russell, third;
Technical drafting three, Cassie Lewis, Sydney, first; Sean Tharp, Sydney, second;
Welding, arc, Russell Ohler, Jefferson, first; A. J. Fandrich, Jefferson, second; Chris Cannon, Capital, third;
Welding, combination, Tyrell Murfitt, Helena High, first; Nathan Hubbard, Bute High School, second; Kerry O'Leary, Butte, Butte, third.
The team competition winners were, in chapter business procedure, Fairfield, first and Colstrip second; in display, Lambert; opening and closing ceremonies, Capital first and Lambert second; in outstanding chapter, Valier first and Lambert second; promotional bulletin board, Lambert first, Helena High's team one second and Troy High School third; quiz bowl, Chester's team two first, Custer County second and Powell County third.
All of the winners on the college level were from Northern.
Collision repair technology, Cory McFarland, first; Steve Fendler, second, Don Nikou, third;
Automotive service technology, Wade Kidder, Mike Spangler, second; Matt Felton, third;
Diesel equipment technology, Dale Neitzel, first; Jess Bandel, second; Robert Shaw, third;
Combination welding technology, Scott White, first; Andrew Johnson, second;
Job interview, Steve Fendler, first; Cathrine Pfau, second; Robert Shaw third.
