SWIC students show off their skills at statewide competition, advance to the nationals

Students from Southwestern Illinois College competing at the Illinois SkillsUSA challenge in Springfield placed in every category they competed in, according to a news release.

SWIC students received 13 medals, and nine students are eligible to compete at the national level later this month.

SWIC SkillsUSA winners were:

▪  First Place Automated Manufacturing Team — Ashley Robinson from Wood River; Kokou Hoenou from Fairview Heights; and Lucas Cooper from Edwardsville

▪  CNC Technician — first place, Zane Wilson from Mount Vernon; second place, Joshua Jolley from Belleville; and third place, Matthew Budnicki from Collinsville

▪  CNC Milling — first place, Wilson; second place, Jolley; and third place, Ben Hart from Waterloo

▪  CNC Turning — first place, Wilson; second place, Jolley; and third place, Noah Reichert from Collinsville

▪  HVAR — second place, Colton Simons from Plainview; and third place, Caleb Davinroy from Troy

▪  Megatronics — Devin Montgomery from Fieldon and Frank Soltys from Freeburg tied for first place

▪  Early Childhood Education — first place, Hannah Geppert from Swansea

Cooper, Geppert, Hoenou, Jolley, Montgomery, Reichert, Robinson, Soltys and Wilson all advanced to the national level competition, which is scheduled to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 19-23.

The Illinois SkillsUSA challenge was held earlier this spring in Springfield.

“We are very proud of our students and their accomplishments,” SWIC Industrial Technology Coordinator Mark Bosworth stated in a news release.

This story was originally published June 13, 2017 at 11:51 AM with the headline "SWIC students show off their skills at statewide competition, advance to the nationals."