WHS students win state automotive technology competition

Once again, a team from Watauga High School has won the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association (NCADA) statewide Automotive Technology Competition. High school seniors Jessica Lawrence and Daniel Miller placed first in the competition, which was held on Monday, March 16, at Toyota West in Statesville.

This is the second year in a row that students from Watauga High School have won the statewide competition. As the state winners, Lawrence and Miller will represent North Carolina in the national Automotive Technology Competition, which will be held in Manhattan April 14-15.

The other state finalists were as follows: second place, Garrett Hausman and Ronnie Tye, Central Academy of Technology and Arts; third place, Ethan Rash and Brandon Summers, Alleghany High School; and fourth place, Matthew McKinnon and Jekevyn Peele, Eastern Wayne High School.

As the state winners, Lawrence and Miller won more than $12,000 in scholarships from Ohio Technical College, Universal Technical Institute and Central Piedmont Community College, as well as tools from event sponsor Snap On. In addition, NCADA will provide the team with an all-expense-paid trip to New York to compete in the national competition.

During the national competition, Lawrence and Miller will compete against students from across the country for additional prizes and scholarships. At the national competition, students will try to complete a series of diagnostic problems on cars and at work stations, designed to test their knowledge, skill and speed.

This is the eighth year that NCADA has sponsored the state Automotive Technology Competition. The association, which represents nearly 700 new car, truck and RV dealers, has a long history of supporting automotive education efforts at both the high school and community college level.