Peoria Students Claim State Title at Ford/AAA Competition
Students earn $50,000 in scholarships, advance to national finals
Phoenix, Ariz. May 7, 2012 – Two Centennial High School students from Peo
r i a earned the title of Arizona’s top high school auto technicians after winning the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills State Finals on Friday, May 4. Led by their instructor Steve Maish, Eric Stover and David Mora will go on to represent Arizona in the National Finals this summer against other state titleholders from across the country.
As the first place team, Stover and Mora won scholarships valued at more than $50,000 each to automotive programs across the country, including the Ford ASSET program at Glendale Community College and Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix. The second place team, Chanse Haines and Tanner Wolverton from Flowing Wells High School were awarded more than $25,000 to automotive programs, while the third place team, Matthew Artman and George Vlassis from Safford High School were each awarded more than $15,000 to fund their automotive education.
“As the automotive technologies evolve, AAA understands the need for bright young minds to enter the industry,” said Don Nunnari, vice president of automotive services for AAA Arizona. “AAA is honored to help jumpstart the automotive education and training of aspiring technicians through this annual competition.”
The 2012 results of the competition are as follows:
|
Place |
High School |
City |
Instructor |
Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1st |
Centennial |
Peoria |
Steve Maish |
Eric Stover David Mora |
|
2nd |
Flowing Wells |
Tucson |
Jerrad Mcmurrich |
Chanse Haines Tanner Wolverton |
|
3rd |
Safford |
Safford |
Ed Taylor |
Matthew Artman George Vlassis |
|
4th |
Prescott |
Prescott |
Mickey Chaney |
Dylan Van Demark Jay Knapp |
|
5th |
Mountain View |
Tucson |
David Damiani |
Jeremiah Butler Myles Hall |
|
6th |
Sahuaro |
Tucson |
Robert Ramsey Jr. |
Sebastian Orozco James Baxter |
|
7th |
East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) |
Mesa |
Dan Christman |
Fernando Hernandez Ryan Ozment |
|
8th |
Kofa |
Yuma |
Norm Champagne |
Ezequiel Lopez Austin Roden |
|
9th |
Mountain View |
Tucson |
Brian Parag |
Lane Andrews Luis Gloria |
|
10th |
Sunrise Mountain |
Peoria |
Scott Hereder |
Mark Shaffer Daniel Okuda |
Stover, Mora and their instructor will travel to Dearborn, Mich., to compete in the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Finals, June 10-12 on the front lawn of Ford World Headquarters. At the National Finals, Stover and Mora will compete for additional scholarship money and the chance to kick start their automotive careers with a job shadow experience with premier racing team Roush Fenway Racing.
The Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills nationwide automotive technology competition offers nearly $12 million in scholarships and prizes to high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers as automotive service technicians. More than 10,000 students from across the nation compete for the chance to represent their school and state as part of a two-person team in the National Finals on the front lawn of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, Mich.
Images of the competition and winners can be downloaded here.