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Two teams were chosen to represent Wisconsin in the national competition. Dorsch Ford Kia and Le Mieux Toyota sponsored one of the winning teams from the AYES Green Bay Area Consortium with instructor Tyson Larson (left). Larson poses with seniors, Jon Dethardt (middle) of Seymour High and Sam Thiel of Black Creek High.
by Bill Nelson
The Green Bay Area’s Automotive Youth Educational System (AYES) Team of two high school students, led by AYES instructor, Tyson Larson, took the winning trophy at the Greater New York National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City on April 11 at New York’s International Auto Show. This will be the second consecutive year Wisconsin has led the event nationally. Grafton’s AYES team took the winning place last year and emerged as state champions again this year.
Both teams headed for the nationals in New York – courtesy of ADAMM and The Foundation of WATDA — where they faced off against 36 regional and state winning teams from around the US for high stakes. The winning student team, Sam Thiel of Black Creek and Jon Dethardt of Seymour, will receive a truckload of scholarship opportunities to the college of their choice.
Upon graduation, they will also each receive a new Chevrolet Cobalt from GM and numerous other prizes and tools. Larson will receive an all expenses paid cruise for two in addition to a host of other gifts, and the AYES Green Bay Consortium will receive new Toyota and GM vehicle donations and tools for teaching.
To qualify in the national competition, six two-student teams competed in the state finals of the 2007 “Technicians of Tomorrow” Automotive Technology Competition sponsored by ADAMM and The Foundation on February 1 for the right to represent Wisconsin in the “Super Bowl” of high school automotive technology contests.
The teams qualified by placing the top six of 23 Wisconsin high schools in a National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) written test. The finalists competed at MATC’s South Campus in Oak Creek. First was a short written quiz, then a series of hands-on problem-solving challenges, and, finally, an hour-long workstation exercise.
This year, ADAMM’s regional competition expanded its scope to cover the entire state, not just Southeastern Wisconsin. Because of the expansion, two winning teams were selected, rather than one, as had been the custom. One is the reigning state and national champion, Grafton High School, represented by seniors Dan Weeks and Ben Wiese. The other was first-time entrant to the competition: the Green Bay Area Consortium, represented by students Thiel and Dethardt. Carl Hader, Grafton’s legendary auto tech instructor, ranked No. 1 spot in 1997, No. 2 in 1998, and 3rd place in 1996 and 2000.
The four other teams competing in the ADAMM finals were:
- Pulaski (Joe Klupp and Luis Vallejo), whose instructor is Kevin Schenk;
- Hartford Union High School (Joe Grensavitch and Phil Thoma), instructor Keith Kohls;
- Union Grove High School (Gerald Sorce and Bradley Salentine), instructor Jim Zimmerman;
- Waukesha West High School (Charles Heyer and Sean Garvens), instructor Todd Behnke.
Dealership participants that assisted in training the student techs: Braeger Ford, Milwaukee; Dorsch Ford Kia, Green Bay; Ewald’s Hartford Ford Lincoln Mercury; Griffin Ford Lincoln Mercury, Waukesha; Le Mieux Toyota, Green Bay; Martin Ford Sales, Union Grove; Schmit Brothers Ford Lincoln Mercury, Saukville; and Sommer’s Pontiac-Buick-Subaru, Mequon.
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