The Brownwood campus of Texas State Technical College West Texas hosted a high school welding competition for area students on Friday.
The competition featured on-site skills and written tests. Approximately 50 students from several regional high schools attended the competition and learned more about TSTC and welding.
Participants from schools in Brownwood, Wichita Falls, Midland, Bangs, San Saba, Comanche, Cherokee, and Holliday competed. Judges were Guy Schultz and Michael Redden, an instructor from Breckenridge who is also a licensed welding inspector. Burkes thanked Airgas and Lincoln Electric for their support and sponsorship of the competition.
“It’s good for the high school kids to come out and show their talents. It kind of gives me a judgment of what the high school instructors are teaching,” said TSTC Brownwood Welding Instructor Jay Burks. “This year’s contest featured only on-site welding which really showcases each individual’s talents.”
Students were judged on the uniformity of weld, undercut, porosity of the weld, and bead size. Welds were rated on a scale of 1-10 on each of the above criteria. These ratings from each judge were totaled and then averaged for the first score. A second score was given for the written test. The two scores were then averaged together to determine the winners, according to Burks.
Each of the top awarded projects won a trophy and certificate along with a welding helmet, gloves and other welding tools. First through third places were awarded TSTC scholarships.
Nemo Vega of Holliday won first place and a $750 scholarship. Vega is pictured above with TSTC Brownwood Welding instructor Jay Burks.
Other winners included the following:
2nd Place: Jacob Harrell of Holliday
3rd Place: Luke Brock of Wichita Falls
4th Place: Devon Cavitt of Wichita Falls
5th Place: Dalton Matz of Holliday
Pictured below are some of the prizes awarded.
