Henderson County High School welding student Quinn Butler said he and teammates were slightly stumped during the first two hours of the SkillsUSA’s National Leadership and Skills Conference welding competition.
But once he and teammates Harrison Shaw and Tyler Schinault figured out how exactly they were going to construct the log-grappler in the print given at the competition’s start, “We were on the homestretch,” Butler said.
They finished their fabrication with 30 minutes to spare, and more importantly, earned a fifth-place finish in the nationwide competition that brought high school welding teams from nearly every state.
“I’m beyond super crazy proud of these boys,” said teacher and coach Brad Ralph, who also guided a group last year to a 21st place finish in the same competition.
In addition to welding competition, SkillsUSA’s National Leadership and Skills Conference features competitions in scores of fields and draws thousands of competitors from across the nation, according to its website.
For the second year in a row, HCHS welders won the state competition, which occurred in April.
At the start of the national competition, all teams were given a print and six hours to fabricate what’s shown on it, said Shaw.
Butler said the print they received was “very vague” and there were a couple times as they were deciding how to get the job done in the first couple hours that they “scratched their heads” on how to move forward.
It was a bit of a daunting competition for them. First, Shaw said they were competing against other state champions, so they knew their competitors were good. Second, all the teams were working side-by-side in a large space in which they could look over their shoulder and see that, “Oh crap, they’re a little farther than us,” Shaw said.
In the end, the HCHS team scored 792 out of 800 points.
The competition wasn’t all about their welding skills. Points were awarded for a paper test, teamwork, safety and even how they were dressed, Shaw said.
“It’s hard to wrap your head around (the fifth-place showing),” said Shaw, who just graduated and was a member of last year’s state champion team that also advanced to the SkillsUSA competition. “Fifth in the nation.”
“I know we did the best we could so I’m proud,” Schinault said.
“We put in a lot of work,” Butler said.
Ralph said after school let out in May, he told the trio to enjoy a week off. But after that week, they were back at the HCHS Career and Technical Education welding room three nights a week for three to four hours at a time.
“They worked their butts off, that’s for sure,” Ralph said.
Shaw will soon enroll in the American Welding Academy in Union, Mo., one of the best welding schools in the nation, Shaw said.
Butler will be a senior next year and Schinault a junior. They’ll be looking for a teammate to replace Shaw for another state championship and a return trip to the SkillsUSA national competition.
