Student Auto Techs Win in Dearborn

4 May 1998

    DEARBORN, Mich., May 2 -- Scott Guenther of Saline, and
Matthew Naebeck of Ann Arbor, weren't about to let a few "bugs" stand in the
way of a trip to Washington, DC and a chance for thousands of dollars in
scholarships.
    The two students from Saline High School in Washtenaw County took first
place in the fifth annual Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills contest state finals
this morning at Dearborn's Henry Ford Community College.
    Guenther and Naebeck successfully identified and fixed their deliberately
"bugged" 1998 Ford Taurus and drove it across the finish line to beat out nine
other student auto technician teams from across the state.  The pair fixed all
problems placed by judges in only 25 minutes, 34 seconds.  The two also earned
their school's auto technician program a 1998 Lincoln training vehicle from
Ford.
    Second place went to the team of Dean Sperry of St. Johns, and Nick Smith
of Dewitt, from St. Johns High School, with a time of 52 minutes,
24 seconds.
    Third place honors went to James Cohoon of North Street (Municipality),
and Steve Wroblewski of Wales, in St. Clair County, attending The St. Clair
County Tech Educational Center in Port Huron, with a time of 25 minutes,
34 seconds.
    St. Johns High School's team also had the highest combined score on the
written testing in February, earning the school a new Ford training vehicle
for the student auto technician program.
    Alpena High School students placed second on the written test and won
engine components for their program.  They were represented in today's finals
by Scott A. Minton of Alpena and Jonathan R. Kollien of Ossineke.
    State winners Guenther and Naebeck will be able to pick from scholarships
worth $50,000 and other prizes and will represent Michigan in the national
Student Auto Skills finals June 15 in Washington, DC.  Other competitors also
were eligible to receive additional scholarships.  The top team at the
national finals receives scholarships and awards worth more than $70,000.
    Ford and AAA Michigan are co-sponsors of the state Student Auto Skills
National Quality Care Challenge contest.

SOURCE  AAA Michigan