Four students from our Paso Robles FFA Welding Team won the top five individual places in the state competition with Iver Hansen in first, Shane Terra in third, Daniel Oliver in fourth, and Zac Alves in fifth, earning the Paso Robles FFA Program the title of 2017 State Welding Champions.
The competition consisted of a qualifying round on Friday, May 5 in which 35 teams faced a 50 question general exam in order to pass on to the next round. Twenty teams, including our PRHS students, returned the following day to finish off the contest. The second day included Gas Shielded Flux Cored Arc Welding, Shielded Metal Arc Welding, Oxy-Acetylene Welding, Gus Tungsten Arc Welding, a welding inspection exam, a job application, as well as having their portfolios graded.
“Each of these students committed to excellence, and during a record-setting year for our program, they continued to break the mold while at state finals. This has been a truly remarkable year for those young men, and their dedication to constantly improving their craft has been amazing,” said welding instructor and coach Justin Pickard.
This victory has made PRHS history, being the first time the school has won in all four categories–welding rotations, written exam, weld inspection, and professional rotation– as well as placing in the top five individual rankings.
