Sherrard welding students take first at the 4th Annual Fillet T-Joint Weld Invitational held on March 16. The event was hosted by Black Hawk College and took place at the Welding and Skilled Trades Center in downtown Kewanee.
Out of 35 students, all six students from Sherrard placed in the top 10. Brennan Welch came in first, Justin Guthrie third place, Lucas German took fifth, Bo Johnson came in 6th, Ryley Zippe took 9th, and Robby Johnson finished tenth.
Sherrard metal fabrication teacher John Rasty said, “I was really proud of the whole group when I saw the results. I had a feeling they would do pretty well based on what I saw from them leading up to the competition, but to have all six of them place in the top 10 is outstanding.”
“Those guys have worked hard in our program and our whole community should be proud of them.”
According to a Black Hawk College press release, “The goal is to provide a competitive welding contest in a state-of-the-art welding facility that gives high school students an opportunity to test their skills.”
Seven schools competed with teams of five students. The Top 3 individual scores counted toward the overall team score. Awards were given to the Top 3 teams and Top 10 individuals.
Top 3 teams:
- Sherrard
- Kewanee
- Geneseo
Top 10 individuals:
- Brennen Welch –Sherrard
- Kyle Guerrero – Geneseo
- Justin Guthrie – Sherrard
- Andrew Burke – Geneseo
- Lucas German – Sherrard
- Bo Johnson – Sherrard
- Kadin Rednour – Kewanee
- Ben Bishop – Mercer County
- Ryley Zippe – Sherrard
- Robby Johnson – Sherrard
Martin Engineering sponsored the contest for the fourth year. The Top 3 teams will receive their awards March 28 at Martin Engineering in Neponset.
The awards for the Top 10 individuals will be presented to the students at their schools the week of March 28.
