Students from five schools compete in welding competition at MCCC

The Monroe News
·2 min read
Twenty regional high school seniors took part in this year's welding skills competition at Monroe County Community College. Students are shown with their instructors.
Twenty regional high school seniors took part in this year's welding skills competition at Monroe County Community College. Students are shown with their instructors.

Five regional high schools were represented at this year’s welding skills competition at Monroe County Community College.

Twenty seniors took part in this year’s event. They were from Airport High School in Carleton, Bedford High School in Temperance, Flat Rock High School, Monroe High School and South & West Washtenaw Consortium of Saline.

Coaches/instructors for the teams are Chase Dowler, Airport; Don Replogle, Bedford; Terrance Wegienka, Flat Rock; Glenn Zorn, Monroe; and Blake Ballou, SWWC.

The top three winners in the Combined Process Welding category received scholarships from the the MCCC Welding Technology Program as allocated from The Foundation at MCCC. Ryan Coshatt from Flat Rock High School won first place and $1,000 scholarship. Elliott Bell from SWWC received a $500 scholarship for second place. A $250 scholarship went to Ben Pitu, Airport High School, for third place. The scholarships were made possible from a gift the Alro Steel/Alvin Glick Foundation, MCCC said.

MCCC welding instructor Stephen Hasselbach (left) is shown with the winners of the Combined Process Welding skills competition category: Ryan Coshatt, Ben Pitu and Elliott Bell. Also shown are Parmeshwar Coomar, dean of the Applied Science and Engineering Technology Division, and Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC.
MCCC welding instructor Stephen Hasselbach (left) is shown with the winners of the Combined Process Welding skills competition category: Ryan Coshatt, Ben Pitu and Elliott Bell. Also shown are Parmeshwar Coomar, dean of the Applied Science and Engineering Technology Division, and Kojo Quartey, president of MCCC.

American Welding Society Detroit Section and the American Welding Society Foundation donated $3,000 to allow for a $1,000 first-place award in the three individual categories of welding. Tristan Haynes, Flat Rock High School, placed first in the Gas Metal Arc Welding category. Mikala Sposito of SWWCA placed first in the Gas Tungsten Arc Welding category. Ellis Meloche of SWWC placed first in the Shielded Metal Arc Welding category.

“The competition was created to reward excellence in welding skills for students enrolled in secondary welding programs and encourage pursuit of higher education technical programs like those offered at MCCC,” MCCC said in a written release.

Also part of the event were presentations from AWS Detroit Section and Wayne State University. The presentations, said MCCC, “emphasized the importance of postsecondary education and opportunities within in the welding industry.”

Several local businesses and organizations donated prizes, served as professional judges or spoke to the participants. Among the participants were Baker’s Gas & Welding Supplies, DTE Energy, Lincoln Electric, Miller Electric, UA Local 671 and Royal Trailers.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Students from five schools compete in welding competition at MCCC