Centennial Students Race to 1st Place Finish at Auto Competition
Phoenix, Ariz. May 9, 2008 – Zach Horton and Kyle Shipley, from Centennial High School in Peoria, have captured the title as Arizona’s best student auto technicians at today’s Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition. In addition to scholarships and prizes received at today’s contest, the pair will now continue on to the 2008 Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills national finals in Dearborn, MI, on June 24, to test their skills against 98 other students from across the nation.
“We are extremely proud of the Centennial students and all of the students that competed in today’s contest,” said Don Nunnari, vice president of membership products and services for AAA Arizona. “As the best auto tech students in the state, these students deserve the opportunity to become professional automotive technicians and we are happy to help them achieve that goal.”
The 2008 results of today’s competition are as follows:
| Place |
School (City) |
Students |
Instructor |
| 1st |
Centennial (Peoria) |
Zach Horton
Kyle Shipley |
Steve Maish |
| 2nd |
Precott (Prescott) |
Jonathan Fluck
James Newhall |
Mickey Chaney |
| 3rd |
Yuma (Yuma) |
Eric Fajardo
Cyrus Bloxham |
Tim Lewis |
| 4th |
East Valley Institute of Technology (Mesa) |
Chase Olson
Christopher Hall |
Denis Ashton |
| 5th |
Flowing Wells (Tucson) |
Will T. Kellner
Virgil Jarman |
Jerrad McMurrich |
| 6th |
Kofa (Yuma) |
Manuel Gutierrez
Garrett Lundin |
Norm Champagne |
| 7th |
East Valley Institute of Technology (Mesa) |
Garrett Stevens
Jordan Castillo |
Randy Phillips |
| 8th |
Sahuaro (Tucson) |
Timothy L. Copple
Ronald R. Morris |
Jack Ramsey |
| 9th |
Mountain View (Tucson) |
Matthew Gregg
Kevin Faflik |
David Damiani |
| 10th |
Mountain View (Tucson) |
Michael L. Hearn
Stephen Hackenbracht |
Brian Parag |
Zach Horton and Kyle Shipley, the only team to return a perfect vehicle in today’s competition, worked with their instructor, Steve Maish, throughout the year to prepare for the state competition. They will continue to train until the national finals in June. In Dearborn, the team will compete for additional scholarships and prizes valued at more than $6 million and the opportunity to spend a week behind the scenes with Roush Fenway Racing, where they will shadow crew members as cars are prepared for the July 12 Sprint Cup Series race in Joliet, Ill. and serve as honorary pit crew members during that race.
The annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition encourages students to explore careers in the automotive repair industry and continue their education after high school. Additionally, the competition highlights the increasing demand for well-trained technicians in the automotive repair industry. For example, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the employment of automotive service technicians and mechanics will increase by 14 percent between 2006 and 2016, compared with 10 percent for all other occupations. BLS also estimates an additional 110,000 new automotive technician jobs will be added over the decade.
AAA Arizona, the Arizona affiliate of AAA, provides automotive, insurance and auto travel services to nearly 800,000 Arizona members. Annually, AAA’s Emergency Road Service responds to more than 450,000 calls for help on the streets and highways of the state as well as providing insurance, travel, and financial services to AAA members and motorists. Since its founding in 1927, AAA Arizona has been a leading advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. |
