Six students from the Paynesville Area High School Land Transportation class (automotive and small engine technology) participated in the competition. Winners were awarded trophies for the first three place finishers and the top two earned enrollment scholarships at Ridgewater College.
The areas of competition Paynesville students participated in were: automotive technology; automotive parts, sales and management; automotive body repair and then a general automotive, which is a combination of all three areas of automotive competition, Jim Hahn, instructor, said.
In the contests, the students had written tests as well as hands on applications. Depending on the contest, some students spray painted a car, others demonstrated masking off doors and windows in preparation for painting, others the use of electrical test equipment and in another the use of a parts catalog and repair manual.
“Each division took between two and two and a half hours to complete,” Hahn said. In automotive technology, John Gottwald placed first and Jeremy Schlangen, third.
In auto parts sales and management, Gottwald placed second and in general automotive contest, Gottwald brought home a first place trophy. His three awards earned him a $500 tuition scholarship to Ridgewater College.
Gottwald is the son of Steve and Judy Gottwald, rural Paynesville. Schlangen is the son of Leo and Joann Schlangen, rural Richmond.