Bayfield students in Skills USA, a national vocational and technical learning organization, competed at the state level April 6-8 in Colorado Springs.
Braxton Newkirk took first place in cabinetmaking, advancing him to national competition June 20-24 in Louisville, Ky.
Newkirk had only eight hours to complete a small table in the state competition, and he had to build it using only automated equipment, which is different from the usual measuring and cutting he does by hand. He had to measure everything at state, then enter the dimensions into a computer, which cut the wood.
"I prefer the more hands-on work," said Newkirk, the son of Kevin and Lisa Newkirk. "It feels like it takes some of the skill out." He doesn't know what kind of equipment he'll have to operate at nationals, either. The time crunch will be a factor, as well.
"The time was tight," he said.
Newkirk devotes time to the craftsmanship in his projects, explained Curtis Gillespie, industrial arts teacher at Bayfield High School and the advisor for the Skills USA group.
This isn't Newkirk's first time competiting at Skills USA nationals. In 2014, the Quiz Bowl team from BHS won state, and he was one of five team members to compete in Kansas City, Mo.
"It's a pretty big event," he said. Only the first-place winners from each state competition advance to nationals.
Also competing at the state competition were Clyde Leonard in carpentry; Mikhael Hageman in cabinetmaking; James Ferguson, who placed third in technical drafting; Chad Winkler, third in architectural drafting; and the the Quiz Bowl team of Newkirk, Taylor Winch, Samuel Kundrik, Winkler and Ferguson. They took third place.
