Winning wheels

Winning wheels

Cassia Tech Center receives car won in competition

By Laurie Welch
Times-News writer

BURLEY - Two Cassia Regional Technical Center students got to see the fruits of their labor Thursday when a $15,000 car they won earlier this year at an automotive competition arrived at the school.

Travis Tolman and Michael McGill, both students at Burley High School, placed second in the Weber State University annual competition that was held Feb. 19 in Ogden, Utah. Twenty-five schools from four states qualified for the hands-on portion of the competition.

Tolman and McGill have both completed the automotive tech program at the school and will not get the benefit of training on the 2004 Saturn car they won, but were pleased to be able to pass it along to the students who will come after them.

"It was really nice to be able to do something for a school that taught us everything we know," said McGill, who plans to pursue a career in diesel mechanics.

Tolman said he was surprised the two-man team did as well as they did because McGill was extremely ill the day of the competition.

"We kind of had a one and a half-man team," Tolman said.

Cassia Regional Technical Center Instructor Scott Street said this is the second time the school has won a car during the competition. The school won its first car in 2006.

"In order to learn how to work on new cars you have to have new cars to work on," Street said. Most of the cars the school uses in training are donated and the newest one they have is a 1998 model.

"It just costs too much to buy them," Street said.

Street said the two students entered six competitions this year, placing in each. Both won between $15,000 to $20,000 in scholarships and about $1,500 in personal handtools.

"It's pretty impressive what they've won," Street said.

Laurie Welch may be reached at lwelch@magicvalley.com or 208-677-8767.