Wicomico Students Excel in Maryland SkillsUSA Competition

Five Students Headed to National Contest

Five Wicomico students finished first in their skill areas in the 36th annual Maryland SkillsUSA Contest, qualifying to compete in the National SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City this summer.

The SkillsUSA competition took place during the SkillsUSA Maryland Annual State Leadership Conference March 21-22. Nicollette Parsons, a Parkside junior, was sworn in as the Maryland SkillsUSA president. The organization represents more than 5,000 students across the state.

Jim Maynard Sr., advisor for the SkillsUSA chapter at Parkside CTE, was named the Maryland SkillsUSA Advisor of the Year and is one of four finalists for the honor of National SkillsUSA Advisor of the Year.

Wicomico students swept the gold, silver and bronze medals in both Electronics Technology and Electronics Applications, once again proving that Wicomico County's electronics students receive outstanding education and training from instructor David Miles, said Bryan Ashby, supervisor of Career & Technology Education. In addition, Parkside CTE graduate Spencer Crockett, a student at Wor-Wic Community College, finished first in post-secondary competition in Electronics Technology. Alex Stevenson, a 2008 graduate of Parkside CTE, won first place in the nation in both Electronics Technology and Electronics Applications in 2007 and 2008.

A three-man team also brought back Wicomico's first state gold medal in Welding Fabrication.

The following students finished first in their skills areas and qualified to compete in the National SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City this June. The 2009 Gold Medal winners were:

Tyler Moskov, Parkside High junior, Electronics Technology
Jung An, Parkside High senior, Electronics Applications
Matt Fletcher, Mardela High senior, and Daniel Chance and John Winn, Parkside High seniors (three-man team), Welding Fabrication

Silver medalists (second place) were:

Jojo Duah, Wicomico High senior, Architectural Drafting
Hunter Pennington, James M. Bennett High senior, Electronics Technology
Nathan Weeks, Wicomico High senior, Extemporaneous Speaking
Chris Davidson, Wicomico High senior, Electronics Applications
Jake Jones, Mardela High junior, Mobile Electronic Installation

Bronze medalists (third place) from Wicomico were:

Alex Gonzalez, Wicomico High junior, Electronics Technology
Ben Bardzell, Parkside High senior, Electronics Applications
Michael Turner, James M. Bennett High senior, Technical Drafting

Forty-five students from the Department of Career & Technology Education at Parkside High School finished in the top three in local competition and advanced to the state SkillsUSA Championships, held at the University of Maryland Baltimore County last weekend. More than 1,000 students from throughout Maryland competed for state recognition and honors in technical and leadership competitions.

Nationally, SkillsUSA serves more than 300,000 CTE students and professional members enrolled in trade, technical, and skilled-service occupations, including the allied health professions.