COLUMBUS -- Two Columbus High School students drove off with first place at the state level Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition.
Seniors Andrew Kohl and Zeb Massman won the competition, which took place last week in Milford. They went up against other students who, after taking a written test, scored in the top 10 in the state. Those other students also included CHS seniors Christopher Demers and Matt Mundil. That team finished sixth.
Now, Kohl and Massman will move onto the National Finals held at Ford Motor Company’s world headquarters in Dearborn, Mich., on June 24. They will be going up against winning teams from other states.
The school had a team win nationals in the past in 1999 and that team was the only one from the state to earn such an honor, said CHS automotive teacher Ron Haefner.
At state, the students took part in a timed, hands-on competition where teams worked on identical vehicles that had been “bugged” with malfunctions. Teams had to identify and repair those malfunctions.
The national competition will also features a hands-on event and a written exam. Students will be judged, and the vehicles are taken on a road test. The winning team will be the one that has the best score when combining the fewest demerits, the time it took to finish the repairs and the score on the written exam.
Scholarships and other prizes will be awarded.
The Auto Skills competition is offered to 11th and 12th grade students in secondary schools that offer courses in automotive technology and have at least one automotive instructor. The purpose of the competition is to encourage young people to pursue careers as automotive technicians.
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