Two auto technology students earned the right to represent Oxford High School at the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills competition April 23 at the Macomb Community College Expo Center in Warren.
Seniors John Musselman and Nicholas Murray were among the top 10 two-person teams from across Michigan who scored the highest on the competition’s written qualifying exam taken on-line back in February.
They will now represent OHS as they compete against nine other schools in the hands-on state finals. ‘Both of them are my top students and I would have picked them before I even knew the results,? said Auto Technology Instructor Dan Balsley.
During the hands-on competition, each team will be given a 2008 Ford Escape with identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair.
Repairs must be made with the highest quality workmanship in the lowest total time.
The team with the fewest quality-of-workmanship demerits and the best combined total score of repair time and written exam will be declared the winner.
Balsley noted both Musselman and Murray have been coming in at 7 a.m. throughout the school year to practice and prepare for this competition.
‘They’re both very dedicated, interested students, who are very serious about auto service as a career,? he said.
Should Musselman and Murray win the state competition, they will move on to the national finals in Dearborn this June.