Elk Grove students advance to national Skills competition

Elk Grove High School students will defend their national title in automated manufacturing at the National SkillsUSA Competition, a showcase of some of the country's best career and technical education students.

Students Oscar Chavez, Anna Connelly and Oscar Gonzales took first place in automated manufacturing in the 2017 SkillsUSA State Competition in April. They advance to the national competition, which is held June 19-23 in Louisville, Kentucky.

More than 6,000 outstanding career and technical education students - all state contest winners - will compete at the national level in 100 different trade, technical and leadership fields. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in occupations such as electronics, computer-aided drafting, precision machining, medical assisting and culinary arts.

Last year, three Elk Grove students won gold medals in automated manufacturing at the National SkillsUSA Championship.

At this year's state competition, Elk Grove students Jonathan Faughn, Kacper Migacz and Maram Safi took second in automated manufacturing.

In the carpentry category, Sam Thune placed seventh, Daniel Trejo earned ninth place and Danny Reyes was awarded 11th place. In culinary arts, Gissel Juarez and Sara Kolak earned 17th and 18th place, respectively. In the automotive service category, Alex Sobieski earned 39th place.