Trojan welders James Scotten, Peyton Tabb and Adam Treviño captured first, second and third place, respectively, in the SkillsUSA District 12 high school welding competition.

This contest was held on Feb. 3 and 4 at the Victoria Independent School District Career and Technology Institute. There were 40 students from across South Texas competing for the district welding championship. This is the ninth year in a row for Beeville to win district and advance to the state welding competition. Other welders from A.C. Jones in this year’s competition included Garrett Bond and John Lopez. Dakota Del Bosque also attended the competition as an alternate.

A vertical up, beveled plate weld was one of the required welding tests for this competition. These students were required to produce an industry standard plate weld, in which the stringer bead and the finished cap weld were to be judged for sufficient bonding of both sides of the plate metal. There were certified welding inspectors on hand to carefully judge each weld, in order to determine the top finishers. These students were also required to take a 25-question multiple choice test covering detailed welding and safety information.

Like last year, Scotten and his welding instructor, Mike Mylnar, will travel to Corpus Christi, where Scotten will compete in the SkillsUSA state competition. The welders will be tested on March 23 and 24 at the Craft Training Center. The awards and closing ceremony will take place March 25 at the American Bank Center.

This is a significant and historic accomplishment for the welding program at A.C. Jones High School, as Scotten won first place at last year’s competition and represented A.C. Jones High School and the state of Texas in welding at the SkillsUSA National finals in Kansas City, Mo.