SWCC automotive students place at 2022 Iowa auto skills contest

Published

Students with instructors and prizes

Southwestern Community College (SWCC) students Lane Whirrett of Osceola and Logan Weland of Creston placed sixth in the hands-on portion of the 2022 DMACC/IADA High School Automotive Skills Contest on Friday, Dec. 16, 2022, at Des Moines Area Community College in Ankeny. This competition recognizes some of the best high school auto technicians in the state.

 These SWCC students qualified for the statewide competition following a written exam administered in October. The top scoring teams were then invited to Ankeny to participate in the hands-on competition. During the hands-on portion of the competition, autos were "bugged" with identical problems. The students diagnosed the issues during a 90-minute contest. 

Whirrett is a senior at Clarke Community School in Osceola and Weland is a junior at Creston High School. The team’s alternate was Owen Allen of Diagonal, a Creston High School junior. 

These students are taking classes at SWCC through the high school automotive repair technology Career Academy. These programs offer high school students with opportunities to take career and technical-related coursework at the college thanks to cooperative agreements between SWCC and their local high schools. 

Jeff Sorensen and Kole Vogel, SWCC automotive repair technology instructors, accompanied the students to the competition.

Pictured above (L to R): Jeff Sorensen, SWCC automotive repair technology instructor; Owen Allen, SWCC Career Academy student of Diagonal; Lane Whirrett, SWCC Career Academy student of Osceola; Logan Weland, SWCC Career Academy student of Creston; and Kole Vogel, SWCC automotive repair technology instructor.