Two Oxford High School students placed ninth in the FORD/AAA Student Auto Skills competition held April 27 at Macomb Community College.
Seniors Carl Boone and Tim Wagner gave it their all at the annual state competition in which 11th and 12th grade students from around Michigan utilize their troubleshooting and repair skills on malfunctioning 2005 Ford Taurus cars.
Each vehicle has a equal number of identical ‘bugs? that must be identified and fixed correctly in 90 minutes or less.
The hands-on competition begins with the words, ‘Gentlemen, start your engines, if you can.?
Boone and Wagner qualified for the state finals after scoring high on a written competency test administered March 3.
In the written portion, 38 schools entered teams consisting of up to eight students. Oxford’s eight-student team scored high enough to rank the school in the state’s top 10.
As a result, the two Oxford students with the highest written scores, Boone and Wagner, qualified for the hands-on state competition.
Unfortunately for Boone and Wagner, time ran out before they could complete their final repair.
However, OHS Auto Technology instructor Dan Balsley said his students put up a ‘gallant effort? and ‘did the best they could with what they knew and what they had to work with.?
‘I’m pleased with their efforts,? he said.