Students from Oxford High School Michigan Win Ford/AAA Auto Skills State Finals

DEARBORN, Mich., April 28 -- Devon Hickmott and Nathaniel Lamothe of Oxford High School in Oxford won the Michigan state championship in the 11th annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills National Quality Care Challenge today at Macomb Community College in Warren.

Hickmott and Lamothe, both of Oxford, needed only 36 minutes to diagnose and correct 12 bugs deliberately placed in a 2004 model Ford Crown Victoria by Ford engineers. Their performance earned each of the winning team members $34,000 in scholarships and the right to represent Michigan against teams from the other 49 states and the District of Columbia in the national finals in June. Daniel Balsley is the instructor who coached the winning team.

Another $110,000 in scholarships will be divided among the student teams that finished second through fifth in today's competition. They are:

* 2nd Place: Joshua Hall and Eric Lennon of Fitzgerald High School in Warren, coached by John Huhn;

* 3rd Place: Aaron Shumaker and Matthew Perry of Kent Career Technical Center in Grand Rapids, coached by Carl Maurer;

* 4th Place: Tony Johnson and Trevor Schlientz of Kent Career Technical Center in Grand Rapids, coached by Richard Goldner;

* 5th Place: Terry Smith and Andrew Barron of Kearsley High School in Flint, coached by Matt Roda.

In the simultaneous Ultimate Master Tech Challenge, Tom Riefers of Archbold, Ohio, a technician with Rich Ford Lincoln Mercury in Archbold, Ohio, won out over technicians from four other Ford dealerships in Michigan and Ohio. His first prize is $3,000 in cash, and he, too, will represent Michigan in the national finals in June.