Published November 14, 2019
57 high school welders descended on the DC3 campus Wednesday, Nov. 13, for the 2019 Southwest Kansas District FFA Ag Welding Contest.
The contest, which was judged by Mike Myers, Andy Ruiz, and Tim Burns, included participants from the following schools: Bucklin High School, Cimarron High School, Dodge City High School, Dighton High School, Kiowa County High School, Hodgeman County High School, Holcomb High School, Stanton County High School, La Crosse High School, Larned High School, Ness City High School, Satanta High School, Sublette High School, South Central High School, and Wichita County High School.
“Judging this competition can be difficult and stressful to ensure that the students get scored correctly and guided to do as good as possible,” said Justin Weil, DC3 associate professor of welding. “These gentlemen spent five hours straight looking at welds and cuts, and then they awarded the scores. Thank you for the donations of your time and the prizes that you donated for the students.”
Individuals placing first through third received $500 scholarships to DC3, and individuals placing fourth through 10th received $250 scholarships to DC3. In addition, all winners received their choice of prizes, which were provided by various sponsors.
“We are very excited to offer these high school students scholarships to DC3,” said DC3 President, Dr. Harold Nolte. “These are topnotch students, and we would love to have them here.”
The top 10 winners were: (first) Nathan Guenter, Sublette; (second) Alex Pavlu, Ness City; (third) Michael Mariche, Dodge City; (fourth) Wyatt Haley, Holcomb; (fifth) Joseph Addison, Cimarron; (sixth) Brock Brown, La Crosse; (seventh) Reese Garetson, Sublette; (eighth) Braden Mitchell, Holcomb; (ninth) Andrew Heimerich, Satanta; and (10th) Burke Shapland, Dighton.
Overall team placings included: (first) Sublette; (second) Dodge City; (third) Holcomb; (fourth) La Crosse; and (fifth) Kiowa County.
Sponsors of this event included: Airgas, National Beef, Excel/Cargill, Victor ESAB, Valtra Strong Hand Tools, 3M Abrasives, DeWalt, Miller Electric, Lincoln Electric, Metabo, Hypertherm, Ansell Safety, HE&M Saw, MSA Safety, Western International, Tillman, and Sqwincher.
By Lance Ziesch