LAHARPE — A welding competition gave students at the Regional Rural Technical Center in LaHarpe not only a chance to test their skills but also an opportunity to shine.
The six-member team took first place in the college division, even though all students are still in high school.
The students competed at Neosho County Community College’s 14th annual Stick Welding Invitational at the Mitchell Career and Technology Center in Chanute on March 28. More than 100 students from 14 high schools and colleges attended the contest. This is the second year the event was at Chanute. Before that, the RRTC hosted the competition.
Students from the LaHarpe facility have competed in the event before, but it was Drayden Reiter’s first time.
“It was an interesting experience,” Reiter said. “It’s a short amount of time so you have to move fast and keep your cool. I think I did pretty well.”
All of the RRTC students did well, most scoring in the Top 10 for individual competition. Carson Keller placed second as part of a three-way tie.
“I was pretty confident going in. I knew we could do well. I came in knowing our team would be at least in the Top 2,” Keller said.
Instructor Blaine Crellin prepared the students ahead of time, and they practiced the skills they needed. The competition includes a written exam and a welding test.
Roper Curry also competed for the first time and admits he didn’t prepare as well as he could have.
“I probably should have studied for the test. More practice gets you far in welding. It’s all about your mindset. Practice and patience. You definitely have to put your time in to be good.”
Briggs Michael said he doesn’t expect to have a career as a welder “but it’s a good thing to know. It’s something you can fall back on.”
Individual scores were: Carson Keller, 173; Chase Smith, 163; Drayden Reiter, 159; Briggs Michael, 155; Roper Curry, 133; Damian Walker, 119.
Competing at the college level were teams from LaHarpe, Chanute, Ottawa, Garnett, Washburn Tech, Fort Scott and Baldwin City. Teams from LaHarpe, Chanute, Ottawa and Garnett are affiliated with NCCC.
